


A Fated Encounter 2 Hogwarts Bound

by SpencerandHotchLover



Series: A Fated Encounter [2]
Category: Criminal Minds, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Gen, M/M, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-24 16:42:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 177,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4927246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpencerandHotchLover/pseuds/SpencerandHotchLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a sequel to Fated Encounter and Spencer and Hotch find out that their twins sons have magic and are related to the Potters, through Spencer. Harry and Ginny show up on the their doorstep and explain how they discovered they were related and offer the twins a chance to go to Hogwarts, instead of a school in the States. This story is finished and has been even before I started posting it, but I've just been really busy and so I'm just now getting around to finishing putting it on the net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A Fated Encounter 2

Hogwarts Bound

Dr. Spencer Reid sighed feeling slightly melancholy as his twin sons Lochlan and Landon had turned 11 several months ago. They were both doing very well in school and were at the top of their class as both of them were very intelligent as was his adopted son Jack, son of his life partner Aaron Hotchner.  
Aaron and him him had been married not quite five years, although their anniversary was approaching in another few months. It didn't really seem like the twins should be so old already as the time had almost literally flown, or at least it seemed that way. His marriage to Aaron was going extremely well and although they'd had a few minor spats just like any other couple they were closer than ever and both of them were very happy, so why was he feeling melancholy you might ask? Well, that was a question that wasn't easy to answer but at least part of the reason he was feeling so down was that his sons were growing up way too fast on him and it wouldn't more than a few more years before they were off to college where he wouldn't see them everyday. Spencer know that it was a hard lesson for any parent to learn where they had to let the children grow up and start to make their own decisions, cut the parental cords in other words. You could just hope that you had raised them well enough that they would be back frequently for visits. Spencer sighed again and couldn't wait for Aaron to get home as he knew that his lover would be able to cheer him up when, not even Sara could.  
Now it was just a couple of weeks into summer and all three boys were away at sports camp, but would be back in another week. He missed all three of them even though he was enjoying the time spent with just his mate and Sara for company.  
What he needed was a vacation and he knew that Aaron did as well as neither had had one in over a year except for a few long weekends as they had both been extremely busy. Spencer was an integral part of the BAU team even though he didn't officially work for the FBI and the team had welcomed him as one of their own. Even the relatively new section chief Arnold Lodge, as Strauss had been killed last year, could see the benefit of his presence in solving cases for they got solved a lot faster thanks to his knowledge of obscure facts.  
Spencer sat down in his favorite chair in the den and picked up the book that had been sitting on a small table waiting for him to pick up and read for a couple of days now. He still read quite a bit, although he didn't spend all his time at it like he had before he had met Aaron simply because he was so involved in his life with his sons and mate that he didn't have as much time to and he didn't mind in the least.  
All three of his sons had kept up with their martial arts and now wore black belts, although not first degree quite yet, but they were certainly more than proficient enough to handle a few bullies.  
Suddenly the phone rang and he picked it up and answered it on the second ring. “Hello?”  
“Spencer, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out to dinner. I'll be home shortly,” Hotch said.  
“Sure, sounds like heaven,” Spencer responded his voice warm. “What are you doing leaving work so early it's only 4 o'clock? Is anything amiss?”  
“No,” Hotch assured him. “I just finished up the last of the paperwork is all and since we haven't had a case in a couple of days I can actually leave early for once.”  
“In that case I'll be expecting you home in what? About half an hour?” asked Spencer.  
“Yes, about that,” Hotch agreed. “Why don't you get dressed up a little and we'll go someplace nice.”  
“Where would you suggest as I probably need to make reservations,” Spencer said.  
“What about that new place that we read about in the paper last week? Sorry I can't remember the name,” Hotch suggested, well aware that Spencer would thanks to his eidetic memory.  
“Oh you mean Mario's?”  
“Yeah, that's the one,” Hotch confirmed.  
“I'll see if I can get a reservation, but it's apparently a very popular place at least from what I've heard. If you had given me a few days warning I could have probably had one.”  
“If you can't, then we'll just go somewhere else,” Hotch said. “I need this night out as much as I know you do.”  
“Yes, we haven't really had a night just to ourselves lately have we?” Spencer said his question entirely rhetorical since the hadn't had a night just to themselves in over a month not with Hotch's busy schedule.  
“No,” Hotch said. “Afterwards I'm planning on taking you dancing so tell Sara that we won't be home until late.”  
“That's a really good suggestion,” Spencer said as he had learned how to dance thanks to Aaron teaching him several years ago. Spencer remembered the first time that Aaron had wanted to take him dancing on their honeymoon and how he had protested that he didn't know how to dance and so Aaron had started you teach him. The lesson had started slowly because Spencer was very skittish, and also slightly clumsy, but soon he was enjoying just being in Aaron's arms with his head on his shoulder letting the other man lean him around the floor.  
Aaron had guided him very gently around the floor and soon Spencer's confidence had risen and he had gotten the hang of it rather quickly. He would never be the lead when dancing, but that was okay because Aaron was extraordinarily good in that particular role and he didn't mind taking the submissive position. “We haven't been dancing in awhile.”  
“No, we haven't,” Hotch agreed softly remembering the last time they had been, which had been over half a year ago. “Perhaps we could take a trip for our anniversary this year.”  
“If you can manage to get away for a couple of weeks that would be good,” Spencer agreed trying not to get excited for he knew very well that it might not happen.  
“So where would you like to go, if I can get leave?”  
“What about somewhere like Paris?” Spencer suggested. “It is supposed to be the most romantic city in the world after all. Besides I've never been overseas before and it will be a good experience.”  
“Paris it is,” Hotch agreed. “I've been, but it was years ago when I was on an assignment protecting an ambassador who was over there for a conference and I didn't really have much time to take in the sites.”  
“Alright then, I'll make that reservation and see you when you get home,” Spencer said saying goodbye and then hanging up the phone.  
The two of them had no idea that their plans were about to be changed quite suddenly as just a few days later there would be an unexpected knock on the door.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Three days later the doorbell rang around ten o'clock in the morning. It was Saturday and Hotch had the weekend off, which didn't happen very often.  
Spencer got up from Aaron's lap where he was sitting with a groan and went to open the door. “Can I help you?” Spencer asked when he saw a man with messy black hair and a pair of vivid green eyes standing there along with a gorgeous woman with red hair and brown eyes.  
“Are you Spencer Reid?” asked the black haired man.  
“Yes?” Spencer said just a little and nervously, “And you are?”  
“Harry and Ginny Potter.”  
“It's nice to meet you, but what can we do for you?” asked Hotch who had come out of the den. “Oh sorry, I didn't introduce myself, I'm Aaron Hotchner.”  
“It's nice to meet you, sir,” Ginny said speaking for the first time.  
“As what you can do for us, well...” Ginny begin glancing at her husband. “Harry, here was digging into his family tree, since he didn't know much about them and discovered that some of the Potter relatives moved to America about 300 years ago.”  
“To make a long story short we managed to trace my family line to you and your family,” Harry said as calmly as possibly, not mentioning for the moment the book he had found in the Potter library that was kind of like a family tree, except magical as it automatically updated whenever a new Potter was born and then gave details whenever you tapped a name.  
Spencer thought about it, then nodded but he did know that his father's family had come from England about 300 years ago and by the two people on his doorstep accent they were definitely from the British Isles.  
Hotch studied the two closely both their body language and facial expressions and decided that while they were understandably nervous that they were being truthful and so nodded at Spencer when he looked at his mate.  
“Why don't you come in,” Spencer offered and the two gratefully stepped inside.  
“Thank you,” Ginny said with a brilliant smile shaking Spencer's hand and then Hotch's.  
“Would you two like any refreshments?” asked Spencer politely.  
“Only if it's not too much trouble,” Harry said. “We don't want to put you out or anything.”  
“It's no trouble,” Spencer assured them. “We always have cookies and juice for the boys to snack on.”  
“Then, thank you,” Ginny said with another brilliant smile.  
“Let me just go and tell Sara that we need some refreshments,” Spencer said leaving the room briefly and heading to the kitchen.  
When he returned and sat back down Harry said apologetically, “We're very sorry that we just showed up like this and took you by surprise. It wasn't our intention to cause any problems for your family.”  
“The two of us weren't even sure if we were going to approach you except that Harry really doesn't have much family at least from his side, so I urged him to at least meet with you,” Ginny explained.  
“It's alright,” Spencer said with a smile. “I really don't have much family either besides the boys, Aaron and my mother in Las Vegas.”  
“So you came to America just to track down your family when you learned you had some?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.  
“Well that was partly it,” Harry admitted, “but Ginny and I also really needed a vacation.”  
“We love our family and three children a whole bunch, but we needed to get away for awhile, so we decided we might as well come to America, since neither one of had ever been and explore a little.”  
“I'm afraid our oldest son James takes after my late father and Ginny's twin brothers and is something of a prankster. He never means any harm, but he never knows when to stop either, which should explain why we needed a vacation,” Harry explained. “He's been grounded for most of the summer for the last prank he pulled and lost all of his privileges to. Ginny and I are hoping that this will teach him some restraint, although we are both doubtful about that happening.”  
“It's not that we mind the pranks so much, just that James doesn't know when to quit before he goes to far,” Ginny explained. “He needs to learn some restraint before he really does someone serious harm and getting in so much trouble that nothing we can do will get him out of it.”  
“Being grounded for the rest of the summer the prank must have been pretty bad,” Hotch said knowing that whatever the prank had been it must have been deadly serious where someone must've gotten hurt.  
“It was,” Ginny agreed not going into details. “We've tried telling James before that he needs to tone down the pranks and he seems to listen to us for awhile before it gets out of hand again.”  
After a few more minutes of chitchat Ginny and Harry exchanged glances and a silent exchange seemed to pass between them.  
“There's also something we need to discuss with you and although we both know it will be hard to believe it's still the truth,” Harry said.  
“What's that?” asked Spencer with the raised eyebrow.  
“Well have you noticed anything unusual with your sons?” asked Ginny  
“Like what?” asked Hotch.  
“Oh things happening that can't be explained or at least not easily,” Harry said.  
“Such as?” asked Spencer.  
“Oh bruises appearing to heal overnight, things being moved from one place to another without the use of hands, things like that,” Harry said.  
“Come to think of it there have been several incidents, especially when one of my sons is upset,” Spencer finally admitted. “We put it down to just our imaginations or the fact that we were seeing things. Why?”  
“What kind of things?” asked Ginny looking intent.  
“Well there was once when the twins were about two when Sara wouldn't give them any sweets before dinner and the cookie jar was sitting on a high shelf somehow fell down on the floor and broke into a million pieces scattering cookies all over the place. Luckily Lochlan and Landon weren't hurt and Sara and I just put it down to the fact that she hadn't pushed the cookie jar back from the edge of the shelf and that it just fell because of the tilt of the shelves. The thing is, that Sara swore that she had pushed the jar back and the shelf was perfectly straight and not slanted in anyway. Why?”  
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and then Harry nodded and Ginny said, “Anything else?”  
Hotch tried to figure out where their guests were going with this, although he to had noted several incidents in the years he had been a member of Spencer's family. That the two Potters were building up to something, he had no doubt, but what it was he had no clue. He did truly believe that they didn't mean him or his family any harm, which was why he was still sitting here calmly listening to the conversation.  
Spencer described several more incidents that had happened ever since the twins had been toddlers and then, Harry said after looking at Ginny, “What am I about to tell you is something so secret that not many people are aware it even exists.”  
“What's that?” asked Hotch.  
“As children did you ever believe that magic existed for real and not just on books and peoples imaginations?” asked Harry.  
“Don't all children?” asked Spencer.  
“Most of them, but the adults drum into their heads that magic is nothing more than fantasy, so that by the time children are grown most have stopped believing in things that they cannot see, or touch, but what I am here to tell you is that magic is indeed very real.”  
Before Hotch or Spencer could say a word in protest, Harry took out what looked like nothing more than a long stick and swished it at the couch that their hosts were sitting on and it started to rise in the air.  
“Magic is very real as you can see,” Harry said as he set the couch they just leave back down on the floor.  
“The reason we are telling you this is that your sons have magic and only if you're born with it can you do the things that they did. Accidental Magic tends to come out when you're upset or angry. When I was a child living with my aunt, uncle and cousin I tended to get angry or upset a lot because I was bullied, picked on, made to do the all the chores while they're lazy lump of a son did absolutely nothing. I was punished for every act of accidental magic I displayed, but it tends to escape you if you're upset or angry at least until you learn to control it.”  
Spencer and Hotch weren't sure what to say although Harry's little display by lifting the couch was certainly very convincing.  
“So you're saying that my sons have this magic?” asked Spencer not sure if he believed it.  
“Yes, they do and one of the reasons I found out is of this,” Harry said taking what looked like miniature book out of his pocket and enlarged right in front of their eyes. “Look at the last page and you'll see what I mean.”  
Spencer took the book and with Hotch beside him opened it to the last page and printed on it was a list of names what looked like a family tree and at the very bottom were his mother's and father's name, then a branch with his name with Hotch's beside him and then three little branches underneath that with his sons name including Jack's.  
“I found this totally by accident when I was going through the library at the Potters ancestral home. It's self updates so that it is always accurate. I had a friend of mine do some research for me to discover as much as she could about the relatives I didn't even know I had.”  
“Don't think that Harry and I don't know about how hard it is to believe that such a thing as magic is real,” Ginny told them understanding their disbelief. “A lot of magic users like your sons come from parents that are muggles and all that means is that they don't have any magic. The Potters have been magic users, well, ever since there were any Potters actually, but even with a history as long as theirs they still produce squibs every now and then.”  
“Squibs?” asked Hotch. “I'm assuming you don't mean like the ones they a use in the movies?”  
“No in this case it means a person who was born to a family where both parents have magic, but one or more of the children does not. It does happen occasionally, even in pureblooded families,” Ginny explained. “Or should I say especially in pureblooded families.”  
“I had my friend Hermione do some research and she found out that about 300 years ago the Potters had five children and the middle son was a squib while the rest of them had their parents magic. Evidently Edwin Potter grew up and went to normal school instead of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When he was old enough he decided that he wanted to move to America as he felt as if he wanted to go somewhere where the Potters weren't as well known like they were in England. From his journal that was left behind he got tired of being looked at with pity and sympathy and treated as if he was made of glass from every magical person he met because he didn't have the magic. Think of it like what if one of your children was born blind or deaf for example, people would look at them with the same way and that does get tiring after awhile. That is where the journal stops, but we know that he did evidently get married and had at least one child, but whether he had a son or daughter or several children we do not know.”  
“If you all don't mind I'm going to change the subject for a minute,” Hotch said and when everybody nodded he continued, “so you're telling Spencer and I that there is a whole community of 'magic users'.”  
The emphasis on magic users was pretty obvious to everybody present.  
“It's not just a community Mr. Hotchner it's a whole different world in some ways,” Harry said. “Tell me did you ever read Lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien when you were a young man?”  
“Yes,” Hotch admitted, “but what does that have to do with this?”  
“A lot,” Harry told him. “Think of the world of Middle Earth a lot like the wizarding world where fantastical creatures of myth exist and also things that would not be real any ordinary everyday world. The wizarding world is a fantastic place, although it is also has its darker side. In our world there are things such as werewolves, unicorns, dragons, centaurs, and many other fantastic creatures are very real, but also very dangerous. Also in our world we have made advancements in the medical field to where an injury that would kill somebody without magic can be healed. Broken bones can be healed in an instant and many other things besides. The world is not perfect, for one thing, at least in England it is stuck in what would be known to you as the Victorian era. Most magic users don't have electric lights, unless they are muggle-born or half-bloods. It was just a few years ago that we were in the middle of a bloody Civil War based on the purity of your blood. The guy who started that is now history, but not before many good families were totally wiped out.”  
“Harry doesn't like to talk about it, because his parents were killed because of the purity of blood issue and that is why he landed with his Muggle relatives that hated magic,” Ginny said.  
“Ever since the war ended there have been many changes most of them good,” Harry said. “We have a new honest Minster of Magic replacing the old corrupt one, the ministry itself has been cleaned out of what were known as Death Eaters who were the followers of Voldemort who started the whole purity of blood issue.”  
“I have a question,” Spencer said speaking for the first time in a long while. Harry raised an eyebrow and Spencer took that to mean that he was to continue. The gesture was so like Spencer's as he did the exact same thing occasionally that it startled Hotch, although he didn't show it. “If there is a whole world of magic out there how do you hide and not let normal people know about you?”  
“Well, for one thing, at least in England the laws are pretty strict about letting normal people know about the magical community,” Ginny explained, calmly. “That doesn't really count the two of you because your family and your sons have magic that needs to be trained. Also witches and wizards have developed spells and charms that make muggles think a place is haunted if any of them encounter what is known as a muggle repelling charm. If a muggle were to encounter one of those you get the urge that you forgot to do something or that you are late for an appointment. The urge is very strong and since muggle aren't aware of the magic involved they obey what they think is their own voice is telling them.”  
“But why hide in the first place?” asked Hotch.  
“Think about it,” Ginny told the older man whom she thought was very handsome, although not as handsome as her Harry of course. “What happens to minority groups?”  
Hotch thought about that then nodded as he was beginning to understand why he had never known that another world existed.  
“We are very small minority,” Ginny explained gently. “There's probably not more then maybe 500,000 wizards and witches spread out all over the world. Also with your technology as advanced as it is if magic users were found out about en masse we would never be able to fight back and our way of life would not only disappear, but we would probably be hunted down and killed or at least made to use our magic for muggles use so we could continue to be able feed our families. I'm not saying that some muggles don't know, since a lot of magic users tend to marry people who don't have magic as it's a way of keeping the bloodlines from becoming interbred and also keeps our magic strong.”  
“Part of the reason that we just survived a bloody Civil War about 15 years ago, was because a lot of the old pureblood families tried to keep their bloodlines supposedly pure and would marry only other purebloods because they hated muggles, half-bloods and muggle-born, anybody really that didn't fit their rather narrow idea of who should be taught magic, which is a very narrow viewpoint. There was a lot of pureblooded family that didn't believe in this viewpoint who fought back including my wife's family the Weasleys. They and other families like them were considered blood traitors because they didn't agree with the other purebloods ideas, which included wiping out most of muggle population and keeping the half-bloods as slaves to serve them. They also believed that only purebloods should be allowed to go to Hogwarts to be able to learn magic at all and a lot of people didn't agree with this ideal.”  
“So you're saying that this civil war was fought over class?” asked Spencer in astonishment. “Mostly,” Harry admitted, “but you have to remember that purebloods are interbred and when you interbreed too much you start to get defects. A great many of the purebloods of England have been interbreeding for centuries and not only did they not only give birth to just one child or at most two, because they had trouble conceiving in recent decades, it also led to other defects such as madness. My ancestors at least from what I can find out never believed in that pureblooded crap at least for the most part. While my father was a pure blooded as they came with many generations of witches and wizards on either side of his family tree my mother was muggle-born, which means I am classified as a half-blood and my children as three-quarters.”  
“Which some people in certain circles still look down on,” Ginny said darkly.  
“Because the Potters have never believed in that pureblooded crap they always had three or four children until my father, James. It was true my father was still pureblooded, and an only child but other Potters did not always marry purebloods.”  
“Also a large part of why the war happened in the first place is because a lot of witches and wizards are afraid of the muggle world. To most of us it is big and it is strange and the muggles outnumber us about 10,000 to 1. Also with all the technology that muggles have come up with we would be outmatched if they were ever to find out about us,” Harry said.  
“Also think about it if a large number of muggles were to find out about us then they would eventually figure out how to track magic or at least large quantities of magic, like at Hogwarts,” Ginny said. “It is just better that most muggles don't even know we exist so that our way of life doesn't disappear.”  
“You mentioned this Hogwarts several times,” Spencer said. “You said it was a school?”  
“It is,” Harry said his face lighting up as he thought about Hogwarts which he thought of as a second home. “Hogwarts has been around for over thousand years and was built by four of the greatest witches and wizards of the age and they were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. It is a coed school and has been since it's founding and each of the founders has a Hogwarts house named after them.”  
“Each house embodies the different traits that each of the founders prized,” Ginny went on to explain. “Gryffindor was known for his loyalty, bravery and also for charging into situations alone that most wouldn't dare to, especially if it meant correcting an injustice. Harry and I were both Gryffindors, in different years since I'm a year younger then Harry and my brother Ron. Ravenclaw is for the really intelligent who like to study more than anything else. Hermione really should've been in this house since she is scarily intelligent and is in fact the smartest witch of her age breaking all academic records when she attended, but she ended up in Gryffindor instead.”  
“The purebloods, especially the ones that followed Voldemort were pissed off, because she outstripped their little darlings in every class,” Harry added with a snicker. “They felt that muggle-borns didn't even deserve to learn magic and that they didn't have even two brain cells to rub together, which is a common misconception in the wizarding England I'm afraid, and yet Hermione proved them wrong time and again. Unfortunately that put her on their hit list, not that she wasn't already on it since I was and she is one of my best friends.”  
“Those purebloods that followed Voldemort, that believed in the purity the blood didn't like to be shown up by someone they considered not even worthy of studying magic,” Ginny added.  
“Pride goeth before the fall,” Spencer softly quoted. “Proverbs, 16:18.”  
“Exactly,” Harry agreed.  
“Anyway there are two more houses, Hufflepuff, who are known to be loyal and hardworking and Slytherin who are known for being sly and cunning. Most dark wizards came from this house, since it contained a majority of the purebloods children whose parents believed, in Voldemort's ideals. Not all of dark wizards came from that house of course, but a vast majority of them did,” Ginny said.  
“So you said earlier that Lochlan and Landon will need to be trained to learn to control their ability?” Spencer asked.  
“Yes, they will,” Harry said. “It will just keep a escaping and causing problems if it isn't trained. Think of their magic like a pair of untrained puppies who don't know that they're not supposed to pee on the floor or chew your slippers and they won't know until they are taught. Magic is very similar and as they grow up their magic will only stop growing when they reach a certain age, which is around twenty-one.”  
“And what do you teach at this school?” asked Hotch.  
“Not things that are taught at any muggle school,” Ginny told the pair. “We teach things like, defense against the dark arts, transfigurations, magical potions, herbology, charms, history of magic and astronomy. Those are the seven core classes that you have to take all the way through to the seventh year, but you can add up to three classes starting your third year, like runes, arithmancy, care of magical creatures and several more.”  
“Will they be able to go to college if they don't have an academic record at a normal school?” asked Spencer looking very concerned. “I want them to go into careers that they love.”  
“Well, after they finish their Hogwarts education it's more than likely that they will want to get a job in the magical world. We have just as many job opportunities as muggles do and now they will be able to get any one that they are qualified for even though they are not pureblooded. In the past muggle-borns and half-bloods were denied a lot of opportunities that purebloods got just because of prejudice from a certain faction within the magical community and a corrupt government. That faction held a lot of power until about 15 years ago. If they still want to go to college and get jobs in the muggle world that will be possible, although a few years ago it wouldn't have been.”  
“So this Hogwarts is a year around school?” asked Hotch.  
“Yes, it is a boarding school, but you get two weeks off for the Christmas holiday's and most students decide to go home, although some stay at the school until summer. School starts on September 1st and ends June 15th It is located in Scotland out in the middle of nowhere and muggles can't see it because of all the charms and spells on it to make it invisible to muggle eyes. To them it looks like the ruin of a castle with a sign that says, “do not enter – dangerous.”  
“Would we be able to visit and check out this Hogwarts?” asked Hotch looking intent.  
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and seemed to be communicating silently. Finally Harry said, “It could be arranged. We can give you each a necklace that will be charmed to enable you to see the school and other protected places. Lochlan and Landon of course will not need them. Before we do that though Ginny and I need to talk to the Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and also the Minster of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. There are certain arrangements that need to be made.”  
“How do the students get there?” asked Hotch.  
“They leave from King's Cross Station, London England, on the Hogwarts Express, from platform 9 and ¾, which is between platforms nine and ten and behind a magical barrier with several strong charms on it so somebody who isn't supposed to notice a bunch of students going through a supposedly solid wall and onto the platform beyond. The barrier is solid to muggles unless they truly believe in magic. The Hogwarts Express leaves at precisely eleven o'clock on September 1st.  
“And where do you buy the supplies you will need for this magic school?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.  
“Well, in London there is a place called Diagon Alley that you gain access to through a wizarding pub known as the Leaky Cauldron, which muggles cannot see, unless someone with magic is touching you. The amulets that we're going to give you should take care of that problem through. Anyway you go out the back door into dead end alley and you tap certain bricks on the wall and an archway opens up into Diagon Alley which is the wizard equivalent of a shopping mall. You will see many strange things that you have never even imagined existed, we have Ollivander's wands, Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Flourish and Blotts bookstore, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Gringotts Bank and many more shops besides. Before you buy anything you will have to go to going Gringotts bank as the wizarding world has it's own money, so you will have to exchange American dollars for Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. You can even open an account there so that the boys will always have money if you want. The wizarding world doesn't believe in paper money, and so the Gallons are made out of gold, the Sickles out of silver, and Knuts out of copper. The bank is run by goblins who are deadly clever and intelligent.”  
Hotch and Spencer were beginning to look a little stunned and the Potters could hardly blame him as a know it was a lot to take in.  
“We know it's a lot to take in as it is a whole world out there that you knew nothing about until about four hours ago,” Harry said looking sympathetic and then checked the time from the clock on the mantle.  
“We can leave and give you some time to absorb this if you like,” Ginny suggested with no little sympathy as she remembered well how stunned Harry had been when he had first learned of the wizarding world. “You're going to be learning about the wizarding for some years to come, so we don't have to tell you everything tonight, which is impossible in any case.”  
“Why don't you to stay for dinner?” Spencer suggested after looking it Hotch. “The boys won't be back from their summer camp for another few days so we do have some time to discuss this, although not much. We also do need to tell Sara since she is a member of this family and we never would've been able look after the boys so well without her.”  
“Besides there's no way we can keep this from her, since she lives here and helps take care of the boys when I am at work,” Hotch said. “Spencer's here most of the time true, but he does have to go out sometimes.”  
“And let's not forget Jack,” Spencer said, “there's no way we can keep it from him either.”  
“We will be stretching the rules a bit in order to tell Sara since she isn't related to you and the boys,” Ginny said looking at Harry who nodded in agreement. “Jack is okay because you legally adopted him, but I also think you're correct and there's no way that you can keep it from your housekeeper. We'll need your words of honor from all of you that you will not mention this to anyone not that they would believe you, but we have some fairly heavy-duty secrecy laws that could get us in a lot of trouble if anybody goes blabbing about things in the wizarding world. I'm not sure what the laws the wizards of America are about that, but in England, well, let's just say that we could be in a lot of trouble with the Ministry of Magic if they hear about the fact that we told muggles about the magical world.”  
“Sara, won't say anything,” Spencer guaranteed. “She would never want to get any of us in trouble. She's been a member of the family since the boys were six months old and is extremely loyal to all of us. I don't know that I would have survived raising the twins on my own as I didn't meet Aaron until they were four years old.”  
“Well, we'll get a chance to see if we survive,” Ginny said patting her stomach. “Harry and I just found out a couple of weeks ago that we are expecting twins.”  
“We really weren't expecting to have anymore children,” Harry said, “not that we aren't delighted at adding to our family, but we stopped at three because we had our hands full, but two of them are almost grown-up now, so if it had to happen it did it at a good time.”  
Ginny blushed in embarrassment and admitted, “I forgot my contraceptive potion one morning accidentally and that has to be when they were conceived.”  
“Let's not forget we can always ask your mother for advice, since she did raise Fred and George. Let's just hope that these two grow up and aren't the pranksters that your bothers still are even to this day. I don't think I could handle two more pranksters in the family as James is bad enough.”  
“Congratulations,” Spencer and Hotch said sincerely.  
“Thank you,” Ginny said beaming. “I really wanted a couple more kids for some years and so has Harry, but since we already had three...”  
“We felt that we had enough to deal with. Both Ginny and I work, although there's really no need for either of us to, because I inherited the Potter fortunate when I turned seventeen, which is considered an adult in the wizarding world.”  
“But we both decided that we still wanted careers as we weren't about to have our kids turn into people like Lucius Malfoy who didn't have a job and just lived off his family's fortune. He was one of the Death Eaters we fought against, but most people wouldn't believe it because he kept his good name in society. He had our former Minister Cornelius Fudge in his back pocket and offered him bribes in order to get certain discriminatory laws passed and also to buy himself and his son Draco out of trouble,” Ginny said.  
“Draco did turn out decent in the end,” Harry reminded her. “He did fight beside us in order to defeat Voldemort.”  
“Well, yes, he did turn out decent in the end,” Ginny admitted grudgingly, “but that doesn't mean he should be forgiven for every time he insulted you, me or any of our friends or hexed us behind our backs during our years at Hogwarts.”  
Hotch and Spencer listened and both thought that this Draco Malfoy sounded like a bully and also that the wizarding world that they had just learned about was a lot more complicated than they had thought. It appeared to be a whole separate society hidden from the rest of the world, but if what they had been told was true and they believed that it was they could understand why witches and wizards up and down the country can't their world separate from theirs.  
“So what do you do for a living?” asked Hotch.  
“I'm a teacher at Hogwarts,” Harry said. “I found out through a defense group that I led back in my fifth year that we named the DA or Defense Association that I have quite a knack for teaching that subject. It was my best class at Hogwarts to tell you the truth and I got the highest score ever recorded. I thought about being an Auror, which is kind of like a policeman except in the wizarding world, but once Voldemort was defeated and at least most of the Death Eaters rounded up I knew that it would probably be fairly boring so Minerva offered me the defense position and I accepted. Now I can't imagine doing anything else as I love teaching young witches and wizards how to defend themselves from anybody who attacks them. Ginny and I also get the summers off so we can travel usually with the children along for the ride.”  
“As for me I'm a healer, which is the equivalent of being a doctor,” Ginny said. “I work at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.”  
“How do you hide all these things from the rest of the world?” asked Spencer curiously truly interested in the answer.  
“Well, as I said we do have muggle repelling charms on a lot of our buildings, and when someone sees something they shouldn't we also have Obliviators and memory charms. In the case of St. Mungo's though it is located underground and you must step through a window of what appears to be an old shop called Purge and Dowse.”  
“You mentioned memory charms? Does that mean what the name implies?” asked Hotch not sure he liked the idea of losing his memories of an event, although he couldn't really blame the wizarding world either for going to such extremes to protect the society they had built for themselves since he could see both sides of the argument.  
“I'm afraid it does,” Harry said. “I don't particularly like the fact that memory charms exist, but I also know they are necessary, for as I said earlier too many people finding out about the wizarding world would be the end of our society. If somebody who knows what they're doing uses one you will have your memory erased with no damage, but if they don't then it is possible to damage the part of the brain the stores information. I have a friend Neville Longbottom and all the way through his school years he had trouble remembering his lessons, well everything except herbology, which was by far his best subject and it was discovered much later, that after his parents were driven insane with the use of the Cruciatus curse the Death Eater used a memory charm on him and he was only two at the time. The information that Neville got in his classes went into his brain recorded perfectly but afterwards it was almost impossible to extract again because of the damage that the memory charm had done to such a young child. It made him extremely absentminded and forgetful.”  
Both Hotch and Spencer winced and felt sorry for what had happened to the Potters friend Neville.  
“Will we ever have our memories altered?” asked Spencer looking concerned.  
“No, because of the fact that Lochlan and Landon will be going to Hogwarts or some other school and as their father you must know.”  
“What about me?” asked Hotch.  
“You two are married, which means that what applies to Spencer also applies to you. Besides you have raised those boys for the last five years and you are as much their parent as Spencer is,” Ginny said firmly.  
“You sure have accepted our relationship easily,” Spencer commented.  
“That's probably because the two of us know better than most people what prejudice and hate can do to someone,” Harry said. “I hated Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort and several other people for a very long time, but that hate was eating away at my soul and I eventually had to find it within myself to forgive them for what they had done to me and to my friend or that hate would have turned me into the next dark wizard. Both Ginny and I had our run-ins with Voldemort before he was finally defeated, but we don't have time to go into the full story right now.”  
“You would never have turned dark,” Ginny told him sternly, “despite how some people manipulated you. You might've turned bitter and angry at the world, but you never would've turned into another Voldemort you're just too good for that.”  
“So what other schools are there to send magical children?” asked Spencer.  
“Well there's Salem Academy, located in Salem Massachusetts,” Ginny answered glad for the change of subject as she didn't want her Harry to fall into a depression or start to brood, which he still did sometimes. “There's also Durmstrang, which is located in Scandinavia, but they have a rather dark reputation and actually teach the dark arts not just how to defend against them, so I wouldn't think you'd want to see your children there.”  
“No, definitely not,” both Spencer and Hotch said at the exact the same time.  
“If all you told me about people who use it the dark arts is accurate there's no way I want my sons exposed to such things,” Spencer added vehemently.  
“The only other major school is Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, which is in France,” Harry said. “A lot of magical children are homeschooled, because the parents can't afford the fees for boarding school or because they don't want to send the children away for nine a half months of the year.”  
“You know if you were to send the boys to school in Scotland they would have support from the family there,” Ginny pointed out. “We would invite them to spend the Christmas holidays with us, so they could get a good idea what a magical house is like and you of course would be welcome as well, along with Sara and Jack.”  
“You know that's a good idea if I could get the time away from work,” Hotch said. “I would like to get to know you two better as well as the rest of your family.”  
“Me too,” Spencer agreed. “Besides we are related and having family I never knew about is a precious gift.”  
“I agree,” Harry said with a nod. “As I grew up with the Dursleys I always wished that I'd had other family, so that I wouldn't have to stay with people that hated me.”  
“So where do you work?” Ginny asked Hotch changing the subject.  
“I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation the Bureau Analysis Unit,” Hotch said. “While I love my job, I really don't have a lot of free time and it's hard to get time off, where I am not at least on call. Not only is there always a ton of paperwork to take care of, me and the rest of the team are often off to another city to catch yet another serial killer by giving a profile. I love my job, I do but it's very difficult to have much of a life outside the Bureau. If Spencer wasn't so understanding and patient about my job we never would've gotten together at all, though I am grateful that he is.” And with that statement Hotch gave Spencer's hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze.  
“You could take a sabbatical,” Spencer suggested, squeezing Hotch's hand back. “Or unpaid leave. It's not like we need the money.”  
“Before I met you I never would have considered doing that unless it was an emergency since my job was very important to me,” Hotch said, “but I admit I could use a break and getting to spend a lot of uninterrupted time with you and the children would be a bonus.”  
Sara came into the living room just then to announce that dinner was ready and therefore the four got up and headed into the formal dining room where did I had been said up instead of the kitchen, shelving the rest of the discussion for a later date.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Two days later it had been decided by Hotch and Spencer that they would be going to England to at least inspect the school and to get to know the Potter family better. It had also been decided to sit Lochlan and Landon down as soon as they got home from their summer camp and tell them about the fact that they had the ability to do magic and that all the strange things that had been happening on and off for years, when they were experiencing high levels of emotions were because of that ability.  
Harry had told Hotch and Spencer that he would loan the twins his wand and guide each of them through a simple spell to prove to them that they did have the ability if they doubted it.  
The Potters, Hotch, Spencer and Sara, once she had learned that magic was real, although she had at first had trouble accepting it, had sat down and had several long discussions about the magical world and other things. The Potters had explained all about the wizarding economy and how much Galleons, Sickles and Knuts were worth when American dollars were exchanged for them and vice versa of course. They explained all about how the post was delivered by owls, how electronics did not work at Hogwarts because of all the magic, which interfered and what first year classes would be like. They explained about the village that was not far from the castle and how it was only all wizarding village in all of Scotland and Britain.  
By the time that they had finished these discussions which were hours long the twins and Jack were due to arrive home the very next day.  
“Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?” suggested Hotch. “If you do that it will give us a chance to at least explain about you and how you are related to Spencer, who never knew you existed.”  
“Alright,” Harry agreed immediately looking forward to another one of Sara's fabulous dinners. “That is a good idea. Besides I'm looking forward to another one of Sara's excellent dinners. You could give Ginny's mother Molly Weasley a run for her money in the cooking department and since she is one of the best cooks I've ever known you should take it as compliment,” Harry told Sara.  
“Oh hush,” Sara said blushing. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”  
“How can it be flattery when it's true,” asked Ginny, “as I happen to agree. Mom is an excellent cook, and I have rarely encountered anyone that cooks as well as she does, so when we say that you cook as well as mom you should take it as a supreme compliment.”  
“And you do it the muggle way, which is harder, while mom uses magic,” Harry added.  
Hotch and Spencer grinned at each other as Sara very easily fell under the Potters spell. Oh it wasn't a spell in a magical sense, but in the way they were obviously being very honest and sincere in their words and actions.  
“So why don't you tell us some more about your family?” Spencer suggested eager to learn as much as he could.  
“Well,” Ginny said looking thoughtful, “I come from a large family as I have six older brothers and I am the only girl that has been born into the Weasley line in about seven generations.”  
“Six older brothers?” asked Hotch almost in disbelief. Oh he didn't doubt that Ginny was telling the truth he was just astonished that there wasn't at least one other girl, considering there were so many other children. The odds of having all those boys when there was so many must be at least 5000 to 1 and probably more than that.  
“Yes,” Ginny said. “I love my brothers, but they did kind of treat me like a object to be teased and played with for awhile before being put back on the shelf at least when I was younger. The only one who never did that was my oldest brother Bill as he has always treated me just like any little sister should be treated. Bill was always protective and he taught me a lot and once I got older I learned how to protect myself. I remember getting Fred and George in trouble with mom a lot of times because she couldn't bear to think that her little girl was the culprit, when some prank was played as usually at least part of it involved me in some way. Bill is a curse breaker for Gringotts wizarding bank and used to work in Egypt, but now has a desk job at the main branch in London and has ever since he got married, when I was sixteen. He and Fleur have four children the youngest of which are still at Hogwarts.”  
Ginny's eyes went unfocused as she remembered all the happy times she'd had with her family. “The next oldest is Charlie and he's a dragon keeper on the reserve in Romania so I don't get to see him as much as I would like. Also he is currently still unmarried and I suspect that he never intends on finding someone to tie the knot with. Mom gets upset when she thinks of Charlie being lonely without a wife and children, but it's just the way he is and he's happy enough so why meddle? Mom doesn't seem to understand that though and always tries to fix him up with some girl every time he comes home, although he doesn't do that too often, mostly to avoid mom's matchmaking attempts. He's there for all the important events, like when Harry and I got married, but most the time he doesn't come home not even for holidays like Christmas. I can't say I really blame him overmuch, for not wanting to come home too often. My third oldest brother is Percy.” Ginny made a face as she thought about her stick up his ass older brother, although she had had to admit he had improved after they war. “I love Percy I do, but he's very pompous, stiff and proper and he even turned against the family during the war and hung on every word that our former corrupt Minister of Magic said. He tried to get Ron to turn against Harry by writing a letter to him and he did several other things that made my blood boil so bad that I wanted to hex him. Percy forgot for the longest time the Weasley family's motto, and that is 'Family First, Always.' The rest of the Weasleys have mostly made their peace with his actions during the war as he did come through for us in the end.”  
Spencer and Hotch really wanted more details, but perhaps they could get them a little later. Also they would be able to pick up hints just by paying attention when they met the rest of the family and observed how they interacted with each other. Besides both men could hardly blame the Potters for not giving full details as the war had obviously been a very painful and hard time for them. They were sure that Harry and Ginny had lost friends as well as family during that time.  
“Next is Fred and George, they're always together because they're like your sons, identical twins,” Ginny said.  
“They're the ones that are always pulling pranks,” Spencer said remembering Ginny mentioning them earlier.  
“Yes,” Ginny said smiling as she thought of her twin brothers, “but they're on their own now and both are married and have two children apiece, all boys. They own a magical joke shop that Harry gave them the funding to start. The products they create and sell are spectacular and they also sell some serious items as well and the store is very popular, especially with Hogwarts students. The last of my brothers is Ron and he and Harry have been best friends ever since the day they were sorted into the same house that first year at Hogwarts, although they actually met on the train and started building a friendship there. He's married to our best friend Hermione Granger and they have three children.”  
“What about your family Harry?” asked Spencer.  
“I don't have any family except the Weasleys, my children and now you,” Harry told them bluntly. “The Dursleys don't count, they may be my relatives, but they treated me worse then a slave when I was growing up with them after my parents were killed when I was just a little over a year old by Voldemort on Halloween night. Arthur and Molly, Ginny's parents have always treated me like a son and they asked me to call them mom and dad after I turned 17 and was considered a grown-up and that's what I've done ever since. I have many friends and a few of them I even consider family, like Neville, but I really don't have any family related by blood except my children, you, and your sons.”  
It was silent for a few minutes and Spencer and Hotch knew that they had hit a sore point with Harry and they couldn't really blame him for being bitter if his relatives had really been as bad as he was indicating.  
“I'm sorry,” Spencer said looking sincerely contrite.  
“It's okay,” Harry said with half a smile, “I shouldn't have taken my bitterness at the Dursleys out on you, since you didn't have anything to do with it. I haven't seen my Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon or their son Dudley ever since I left their house right before I turned 17. I haven't really thought about them in a lot of years, but I suspect that discussing them now brought up all the old bitterness. Let's just forget about it and start over.”  
Spencer nodded and promised himself to be a little more careful in the future about what he said as he didn't want to cause Harry anymore hurt as his aunt, uncle and cousin had done enough of that already, years ago.  
“Anyway our three children are James Sirius, Arthur William, Lily Luna and then there is my Godson Teddy Lupin, but he lives with his parents Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin. James and Art both have Harry's black, wild hair, while James has my hazel eyes, Art has his father's green, while Lily got my red hair, but also Harry's eyes.”  
“Actually Lily looks so much like my mother that it is almost uncanny,” Harry said. “I have a photo album that my friend Rubeus Hagrid, who is the care of magical creatures instructor as well as groundskeeper at Hogwarts, put together for me at the end of my first year of my parents, my godfather Sirius Black, Remus Lupin another of my parents very good friends that I mentioned a minute ago, and several other people.”  
“Let's not forget that James looks a lot like your father except his eyes were brown and not hazel is about the only difference,” Ginny said. “Would you like to see a picture of our children?”  
“Sure,” Spencer said, “you have one on you?”  
“Yes,” Harry said reaching into the pocket of his pants and bringing out his wallet, opening it and taking out a picture and then enlarging it without speaking with a flick of his wand so that the figures weren't so small. Once that was done Harry passed the picture to Spencer who studied it with Hotch looking as well from where he was sitting beside the younger man.  
The picture itself was of the four children with Harry and Ginny standing behind them arms around each other, but the weird thing was that the photo moved. The images of Harry and Ginny would look at each other, down at the children and then kissed every few seconds while the pictures of the children would make faces at seeing their parents being all lovey-dovey.  
“You could have warned us,” Spencer said meaning that he had jumped when the pictures moved.  
“Sorry, I forget to mention that wizarding photos move,” Ginny said who genuinely had forgotten. “Moving pictures is just such a part of our every day life that you really don't consciously think about them.”  
Hotch and Spencer nodded as Ginny's explanation made complete sense. Some thing you just didn't consciously pay attention to, especially if you had been around them for all your life.  
“That one on the right is our son James,” Harry said, “the girl in the middle of course is Lily, the boy on the other side is Art and the slightly older boy with green hair is my godson Teddy, who is a Metamorphmagus, which means that he can change his appearance at will, his hair color, and length, but also his face and body shape. Being a Metamorphmagus is a very rare talent, but in this case he inherited from his mother who can do the same thing.”  
“How recent is this photo?” asked Hotch studying the handsome family.  
“It was just taken last year,” Harry said looking at Ginny who nodded. “Teddy is 15, James is 12, Art 10 and Lily is just 8.”  
“So your youngest son and mine should be attending Hogwarts together and be in the same year?”  
“Yes, they should as Art just turned 11 a few months ago,” Harry said. “He's really excited, although he's told me more than once that he doesn't want to be in the same house as James because of all the pranks he pulls even at home. I can't say I really blame him for that since James does pull a lot of pranks on his brother and sister. James is in Gryffindor, but what house Art goes into doesn't really matter.”  
“He's smart enough for Ravenclaw, so I think that's probably where he's going to go, although we don't of course know until after he is sorted in September, but that's the house my money is on.”  
“I think that both twins will probably end up there as well,” Hotch said who had heard all about the school houses and what traits they embodied, “both are extremely intelligent just like their father, although Lochlan likes to study more than Landon does.”  
“It has been known for twins to end up in different houses if their personalities are very dissimilar, Ginny said. “When I went to school Parvati Patil ended up in Gryffindor and her twin sister Padma was in Ravenclaw, but on the other hand it's also possible that they'll both end up being in the same house just like Fred and George were.”  
“I for one can't wait to meet them as until I discovered that book with the Potter family tree I thought that Ginny, the children and the Weasleys were the only family I had and none of those I mentioned have the Potter blood, except the children. For a lot of years I was the last of the Potters until I married and had children, so it's just so good to find out I have family on my side. By the way I didn't think about mentioning this before, but when I discovered that I had other family, I went to Hogwarts and convinced Minerva to let me look at the book that lists all magical children in Britain and Ireland as soon as they are born, although they and their families aren't actually contacted until the children turn 11.”  
“And the twins were listed?” asked Hotch knowing he was right even before Harry confirmed it.  
“They were,” Harry admitted. “The reason I believe this is is that they are related to the Potter line, but are the first to be born to display magic in a long line of squibs. Witches and wizards who have the Potter blood have always gone to Hogwarts ever since the founding over a thousand years ago and in fact a Richard Potter was one of the very first students to go to the school right after it was built. I'm not sure if there were any Potters before Richard though as that is as far as the journals I discovered in the Potter manner library go back, so I suppose I'll never know if Richard was the first Potter or if there were other's before him.”  
“That you have records that go so far back is truly astounding,” Spencer said. “I would think that they would have disintegrated by now.”  
“Preservation spells,” Ginny told Spencer simply. “A preservations spell does exactly what the name implies and protects the paper or in our case parchment from falling to shreds.”  
“Do you think I could read some of those records?” asked Spencer sounding eager, since he loved learning new facts and that those journals had to do with his family, one he had never known about was just a bonus as far as he was concerned.  
“I don't see why not, just so long as you read them at Potter Manor,” Harry told him.  
“We're really going to have to visit now,” Hotch told the Potters smiling at his mate. “You've just let loose a monster. Spencer reads faster than anybody else I've ever met and he'll speed through those records at warp speed. He'll remember everything he reads to since his memory's eidetic. I tested him once you know, right after we had met and he quoted me word for word entire pages from half a dozen books that he hadn't read in years.”  
“Hermione and you will get along great,” Harry told Spencer dryly with a smile as he thought of the friend that he had known since they were eleven. “She's a lot like you and loves to read and study even if she doesn't have that eidetic memory. As I mentioned before she's brilliant and we never would've won the war against Voldemort without her or at least not without the cost being greater. She'll understand when you get technical about something even when the rest of us are totally lost since she's the same way. I've gotten pretty good at translating when she does that though, or at least I have most of the time.”  
“You and this Hermione Granger you've mentioned several times seem pretty close,” Hotch said.  
“We are, but not in the way you mean,” Harry said calmly. “Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother, Hermione and I faced a lot of danger together and we've also been best friends at Hogwarts since we were 11 and that forges a kind of bond between you. I think of Hermione like a sister actually since I never had one before. I love her, just not in a sexual way. How could I not love her? She's saved my life on several occasions just as I saved hers. When you save someone's life, especially in the magical world, well, let's just say that those kind of bonds are strong and are very rarely broken.”  
“You keep alluding to the fact that you were involved in this wizarding war, but weren't you a little young at the time to be involved in something like that?” asked Hotch.  
“Well, I agree with you I was young and so were my friends,” Harry admitted. “Maybe I'll tell you the whole story sometime, but right now it would take way too long as you need at least a whole day free and the twins will be home in a few hours and no I won't tell you part of it now because once I get started, well, let's just say I'd like to get it over with all at once as a lot of it isn't exactly very fun for me to remember.”  
“That's the understatement of the century,” Ginny muttered not looking pleased, although she also knew that the two deserved to hear the whole story since they were family.  
The four of them sat and talked for few more minutes and then Harry and Ginny left in order to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner so they could meet the twins and Jack.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

At 6:30 precisely the doorbell rang and Sara went to answer the door as they were expecting the Potters for dinner.  
When the twins and Jack had gotten home from their summer camp at 4 o'clock they had immediately been sat down and told that they had relatives that they had never known about.  
It had been explained to them about how the Potters had discovered that they were related and that they were from England.  
Spencer and Hotch hadn't mentioned magic thinking it would be better to tell them after the Potters had gotten there for they knew how hard it was to believe as even they still had trouble believing it even though it had been proven that magic was very real and present even in today's world.  
“Come on in,” Sara invited moving out of the way so that the Potters could enter the house.  
The two Potters entered the house and Sara closed the front door. “You know where the living room is I've got to finish of dinner.”  
“Thank you,” said Harry as he kissed Sara on the cheek, causing the older lady to blush.  
As soon as the Potters came into the living room Hotch got up from where he was sitting and introduced the two of them to the three children, “Jack, Lochlan, Landon this is Harry and Ginny Potter. Spencer and I have told you how the two of them discovered that Harry is related to him and that means that you as his sons are also related,” Hotch told them and the three children knew that Hotch meant the Lochlan and Landon and not Jack.  
“It's nice to meet all three of you,” Harry told them sitting down in one of the chairs while Ginny took her place in another chair across from him.  
“We're actually related?” asked Landon as he studied Harry. Harry didn't look anything like his father or him and Lochlan at all.  
“Very distantly related, yes,” Harry said. “We're something like 6th or 7th cousins, which is why we don't look anything alike. Until just a couple of months ago I believed that me and my children were the last of the Potter line.”  
“How did you discover that we are related?” asked Lochlan speaking for the first time.  
“I had a friend of mine do some research since she's much better at it than I ever could hope to be and she's the one that discovered the connection.” What Harry said was technically true he'd had Hermione do some research, but only after he had discovered the book with the family tree that self-updated. “I really didn't know much about my family at all since I grew up with my aunt and uncle because my parents were murdered, so I had Hermione, my friend look into it for me.”  
All three children digested this for a minute.  
“I have to say that I was delighted to discover that it wasn't just me and my children with the Potter blood even if it's a very distant connection,” Harry added.  
“So you don't have any brothers or sisters?” Jack said logically.  
“I'm afraid not,” Harry told Jack kindly. “I would've loved to have had a brother or sister growing up, but my parents were killed when I was just a little bit over a year old and so they had no time to have a second child. From what I know from some old friends of theirs both my parents wanted a large family they just didn't have time to get that far.”  
“How were your parents killed?” asked Landon.  
“We can discuss that after dinner,” Spencer said immediately putting a halt to the questioning as he knew what it would lead to and once it did they would be here for the rest of the evening and miss dinner entirely.  
“Ah, Dad, we want to hear more,” both twins whined at the same time causing both Ginny and Harry too suppress grins as the twins response reminded them so much of Fred and George that it was almost uncanny, but then twins always seemed to have a special, almost mystical connection and this was doubly true for identical ones.  
Before the twins could protest further or even before Spencer could respond Sara stuck her head in the door and informed them that dinner was ready to be served and that they all needed to get to the table.  
“You three go wash your hands and then join us in the dining room, since there are to many people for the kitchen,” Hotch ordered the three sternly, but the half smile on his lips let everyone know that he wasn't as serious as he sounded.  
All three children looked at each other and headed to the downstairs bathroom in order to wash their hands for they knew better than to disobey their uncle when he used that tone of voice.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

An hour later they were all finished eating and sitting in the living room again including Sara.  
“I believe you were going to tell us how your parents were murdered before dad stopped us,” Lochlan said.  
“In order to tell you that I must tell you a secret, but you must promise never to tell anyone.”  
All three children glanced at their parents who nodded that it was okay for them to promise as they knew what the secret was.  
“We promise,” all three children said at the same time and Harry nodded reading just from their expressions that they truly meant it.  
“Well, there's no less startling way to tell you this, but magic is very real.”  
“Magic?” Jack looking disbelieving, although the twins didn't since both of them remembered incidents where strange things had happened when they were angry or upset.  
“Yes, magic,” Harry said taking out his wand. “Let me prove it to you,” and with those words he pointed wand at Jack and said, “Rictusempra.” A jet of silver light left Harry's wand and hit Jack who immediately started rolling around on the floor laughing his head off for no discernable at all.  
“Believe me now?” asked Harry trying not to grin as he and the others watched Jack rolling around on the floor laughing his head off.  
“Don't worry it won't hurt him,” Ginny assured the other three adults as well as the twins as they started to look worried for Jack. “It is simply a spell designed to tickle you and make you laugh and it is sometimes good in a fighting situation to get the bad guys to drop their wands because they won't expect this particular spell. As you can see it makes you laugh so hard that it is very hard to pronounce the counter curse properly, which gives you at least a few seconds advantage in order to either do another spell or to hide.”  
“Alright, alright, I'm sorry I didn't believe you, so would you please stop it?” asked Jack between laughs.  
“Sure,” Harry said and immediately the did the counterspell, “Finite Incantatem.” A jet of red light left Harry's wand this time and hit Jack and he immediately quit laughing and sat up.  
“You okay son,” Hotch asked in slight concern, although he did trust Harry not to hurt his family he couldn't help being a little concerned for his son.  
“I'm fine, dad,” Jack assured his father. “I just suddenly felt like these ghost fingers were tickling my ribs making me roll around on the floor laughing my head off. My ribs are sore to be sure, but that's normal when you laugh so hard.”  
Hotch relaxed now that he knew that his son was fine.  
“Wow! That was really ultracool,” Landon said having no doubt that display had indeed been magic as he didn't know of anything else that could have made his brother laugh so hard.  
“I'm glad you think so,” Harry told him with a grin, “because one of the reasons we told your parents about magic when we didn't have to is that you two also have the ability. It tends to run in the Potter line very strongly, but although you have Potter blood you come from a squib in the Potter line from about 300 years ago. You two are the first of Edwin's progeny to have the ability to do magic.”  
“Squib?” asked Lochlan wondering what Harry meant by that term.  
“That just means somebody who's born into a magical family, but doesn't have the magic themselves,” Ginny explained calmly. “It happens sometimes. My family for example is as pureblooded as they come, which means we have nothing, but witches and wizards on either side of my family for many generations, but we still have a squib cousin who's an accountant by the name of Joe.”  
“The Potters are also as pureblood as they come, well they were before my father James married a muggle-born, which was my mother Lily Evans. I am considered a half-blood because of that, but until my children were born I was the last of the Potters being a half-blood didn't mean as much. Before you ask all muggle-born means is that while the child has magic the parents don't and muggle is our word for those without magic.”  
“So what exactly does this mean for us?” asked Lochlan curiously.  
“Well, we would like you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this coming term, which is located out in the middle of a moor in Scotland. It is a boarding school that is year-round except for two and a half months in the summer and two weeks for Christmas. If you decide to go you will be taught how to control your ability so that it doesn't always leak out when your emotions are running high. You will be taught transfigurations, defense against the dark arts, charms, history of magic, astronomy, herbology and magical potions. It is a seven year school where you will graduate fully trained wizards.”  
“Would we be able to keep in contact with the family?” Landon asked.  
“Yes, you would, although owls, which is the way wizards deliver mail, are out of the question since they can't travel so far, but there are other means of delivering your letters.”  
“What about cell phones?” Landon asked.  
“Sorry, but electronics won't work at Hogwarts as there is way too much magic interfering with things that work on electricity,” Ginny explained, even pronouncing the word correctly. “It's possible that the cell phones would work from Hogsmeade, but then you'd have no way to recharge them since we don't use electricity.”  
“How about before you decide you take a tour of the school,” Harry said. “We've already discussed this with your parents and they have agreed that it is a good idea. We can introduce you to Diagon Alley, which is our shopping center, which is alongside Charing Cross Rd. in London England.”  
“Yes we did agree that it's a good idea to at least tour the school and get a little of the flavor of the magical world and then if you decided against it at least you have made an informed decision,” Spencer told his sons.  
“Are you coming to Uncle Aaron?” asked Lochlan looking at the man that he and his twin considered a second father and had for the last five years.  
“Yes, you're father suggested I take unpaid leave so I can come with you,” Hotch said. “I want to see this Hogwarts that Harry and Ginny keep talking about. It will be like a vacation.”  
“Yeah!” all three children cheered making Hotch smile.  
“You'll get to meet our three children, who are your distant cousins,” Ginny added smiling, “see what a magical household is like and how it is different from your own.”  
“We can also arrange for you to meet Ginny's family, her mother and father and all her brothers. She has six of them just in case you're curious,” Harry said.  
“Six?” asked Jack who was an only child until he had been adopted by Spencer and now he had two brothers.  
“Six,” Ginny confirmed smiling. “All of them older. Harry was indeed very brave to date me considering he knew how protective my six older brothers were, but then again by the time we did start to date, he was considered a member of the family and a little brother to them so maybe it wasn't as brave as I thought.”  
“They did threaten to hex me so bad that the healers would never figure out how to reverse the effects of all of them if I hurt their little sister, so yes, I must have been brave, or maybe insane is a better word,” Harry added smiling as he remembered back to all those years ago, “but then again I was a Gryffindor after all.”  
Ginny chuckled in appreciation at her husband's statement.  
“I would think seven children would be a bit much,” Sara said speaking for the first time since she had greeted Harry and Ginny at the door. “Why did your mother have so many?”  
“Well, one reason is that mom and dad both really love children,” Ginny explained, “but the main reason is that both my parents really wanted a daughter and the Weasleys have always been known for only producing boys so they just kept having children until they had me. I apparently broke the pattern because Harry and I have a daughter named Lily as well and my brothers Bill and Ron also have daughters.”  
“Molly is just thrilled with so many grandchildren,” Harry added, “and she spoils them rotten.”  
“That's what grandmothers are supposed to do,” Sara said with a smile.  
“So when will we be leaving?” asked Jack looking excited.  
“Well, probably not the least a couple of weeks,” Hotch said. “I'm going to have to make arrangements at work first.”  
“While you're doing that we'll be touring the city and see some of the sites,” Harry said. “By the way don't worry about arrangements to get to England we'll simply take a Portkey it's a lot easier and faster.”  
“What is a Portkey?” asked Spencer curiously.  
“It's one way that wizards travel,” Ginny explained. “You simply charm an object and it doesn't matter what that object is and so long as you know where you're going a Portkey can be charmed to take you anywhere in the world. Even muggles can use them, which is why Harry suggested them.”  
“What about passports and things like that,” Hotch protested his sense of right and wrong coming to the fore. The government issued passports for a reason after all.  
“Well, you could go the muggle way, but it seems a lot more complicated,” Harry said. “You're only going for a short visit and none of the officials are going to know that you're in the country illegally. Most witches and wizards aren't even listed in muggle records unless they have some sort of non-magical background like parents who don't have the magic. The more you are familiar with the magical world, the more you'll find that most magical folks don't give a damn about the muggle world or their laws. We are a totally separate society even though we live hidden among non-magical folks. We have our own government, banking, education system etc. etc. as I mentioned earlier. You know why magical folks hide from the much larger nonmagical population.”  
“Well, yes,” Hotch agreed reluctantly.  
“I know you believe in the laws that have been created and also believe in justice, so do I,” Harry said, “but you need to think of it from a wizarding point of view.”  
The three children looked back-and-forth between the five adults and finally Hotch nodded as he could indeed see Harry's point, although he didn't like it.  
“The only problem I can see, is that Garcia is supposed to keep track of our team even while they are on holiday and if we don't tell her where we are going, well then I can guarantee that she's going to try to track down where we are and if she can't find us there could be trouble,” Hotch said.  
“Garcia?” asked Ginny as she tilted her head curiously.  
“Penelope Garcia, she's our technical analyst for the BAU team. She's very good with computers and has managed to help us catch more than one criminal with the information she has managed to find. It's also her job to keep track of the team even when they are on holiday just in case they get into a situation and need help. She is also as curious as a dozen cats and trust me when I say you don't want that curiosity pointed at you as she'll never give up until she discovers what it is you are hiding.”  
Harry sighed and knew that this whole situation was getting more complicated all the time, but Hotch was also correct in his interpretation of the situation. “Is she trustworthy? Will she keep a secret no matter what?”  
“Absolutely,” Hotch said without hesitation.  
“Then we'll have to tell her, although it is against my better judgment,” Harry said. “The more people you let in on a secret the more likely it is to get out, but I realize we have very little choice in the matter if you are at all correct about her personality and intelligence. I don't plan on mentioning to anyone how many people I told about the wizarding though.”  
“Why?” asked Jack with the curiosity of any little boy.  
“Because the wizarding world has laws about telling nonmagical folks about our society,” Ginny explained gently. “It's okay for your parents, you and Sara to know because you are the twins family and there would be no way to keep it from people you live with, but Penelope Garcia doesn't fall into the category even if you think of her that way. Harry and I could both be in a lot of trouble if it was discovered that we had told someone who didn't really didn't need to know, or at least that will be the way that the people in charge will think. Our society is very primitive compared to the muggle world and most witches and wizards don't even know that computers exist much less what they can be used to track someone down.”  
“Ever since we fought and won a war about 15 years ago against a magical supremacist group things have improved a great deal, but we are still very primitive compared to nonmagical folks. Change in a society takes time, decades and even centuries as it must be done slowly so that people have time to accept the changes, starting with the children,” Harry explained.  
“You were going to tell us about how your parents were killed,” Jack reminded Harry.  
“So I was,” Harry said falling silent seeming to be gathering his thoughts. “About 70 years ago there was this wizard, a half-blood and an orphan like me by the name of Tom Riddle that went as bad as anybody can possibly go. Riddle was deep into the darkest of arts determined to rule the wizarding world. Riddle went through so many magical changes during that time that he was no longer completely human or even recognizable as the handsome boy that had been head boy at Hogwarts. In the 70s when my parents went to school the war had really just gotten started and Tom Riddle had just begun gathering followers that believed the same way he did that only purebloods were worthy to practice magic. My parents were two of the strongest, most intelligent magical users that Hogwarts had seen in quite some time and they along with their friends were determined to fight for the right and help defeat Tom Riddle. My parents defied Riddle aka Voldemort three times and got away, which not many people could really say, except Headmaster Albus Dumbledore because Voldemort was very strong in magic and had about 30 years more experience then my parents and their friends did. The magical community was so afraid of Voldemort that they refused to say his name and called him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Not many people were aware that Tom Riddle who had gone to Hogwarts in the 50s was Voldemort, because his appearance had changed drastically because of all the dark rituals he had undergone. In 1980 just before I was born a prophecy was made and one of Voldemort's Death Eaters overheard the first half of it. It basically stated that a baby born at the end of July would be the one with the power to defeat Voldemort once and for all. There were only two babies, both boys born in 1980 at the end of July that fit that description, me and Neville Longbottom. Finally on Halloween night 1981 my parents were hiding under a charm that was supposed to protect them from being discovered unless the Secret-Keeper betrayed them. There was nothing wrong with the charm itself, but my godfather Sirius Black convinced my parents to switch to Peter Pettigrew, who was another friend because he thought he was too obvious a choice as he and my father James were as close as brothers, which was well known in the magical community. What my father and his friends weren't aware of was that Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater and had been over a year at that point....”  
Harry continued to tell the story although he gave them the relatively short version but even that took a couple of hours.  
Nobody said anything for some minutes when Harry had finished telling about his parents deaths, Peter Pettigrew's betrayal and his Godfather Sirius Black incarceration, being falsely accused of killing the Potters and about a dozen muggles.  
“I'm sorry about what happened to your parents,” Lochlan said sincerely.  
“Thanks, but it was many years ago. I'll always miss them, probably because I never really got to know them, and even the stories that Remus can tell me aren't really enough,” Harry said with a sad smile.  
“Alright boys,” Sara finally said not haven't spoken much at all that evening, “it is past time for bed as it is quite late.”  
“Ah, do we have to,” Jack complained.  
“Listen to Sara, boys,” Hotch said. “We'll see you in the morning.”  
“Will we see you two tomorrow?” asked Lochlan who had grown quite find the Potters in the few hours he had known them.  
“I'm not sure yet,” Harry said, “but we'll see.”  
The three boys headed upstairs as Sara followed them making sure that they brushed their teeth and went straight to bed.  
“We need to get going,” Ginny said looking at the clock on the mantle. “We probably shouldn't have stayed so late.”  
“We're really sorry that you lost your parents in such a way and at such an early age,” Spencer told him sincerely and Hotch echoed him.  
“It's all right. I dealt with the loss of my parents a long time ago,” Harry said with a sad smile. “I miss them and my godfather to, but I'll see them again, someday.”  
“From what I gathered from your story you're government needs to be completely overhauled,” Hotch said. “More just laws need to be written where bribery is not acceptable and honest people need to be put into place that won't be susceptible to that kind of thing.”  
“The government was corrupt 15 years ago,” Harry corrected with a smile, “but with Kingsley Shacklebolt in charge it has improved a great deal. Some of the older conservative families are still fighting him tooth and nail, so the changes are coming very slowly, but there have been quite a few.”  
“Kingsley Shacklebolt is as honest as the day is long and also very brave. He fought to protect Harry and everybody else doing the wizarding war. Thanks to him there are now no more discriminatory laws against muggle-borns, or magical creatures like goblins or centaurs. All the corrupt ministry officials have either been sent to Azkaban, fired or forcibly retired, depending on the level of their corruption or if they only did what they were told because they feared for their lives or the lives of their families,” Ginny explained. “Really Kingsley is doing a terrific job considering how a lot of the old more conservative families who don't want change are fighting him. You're right that we need more changes in the government and also in the way that our society thinks for the way it was before with corruption running rife and a lot of purebloods ideas that they were better than anyone else is what made it so easy for Voldemort to take over in the first place. If we can change the government and people attitudes we'll not see another dark wizard in our lifetime and maybe not for centuries.”  
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” Spencer quoted.  
“Who said that?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow always amazed at the things that Spencer knew right off the top of his head, even after five years of marriage and seven years of knowing him.  
“George Santayana,” Spencer replied immediately. “He was a somewhat famous poet, novelist, philosopher and essayist in 1863. His saying has had half a dozen variations over the last century and a half.”  
“We should be going,” Harry said, getting up from his seat heading for the front door Ginny following. “You know how to reach us if you need to. We'll be here in our hotel for the next couple of weeks at least.”  
“Thank you for the giving our sons the watered-down version of your story,” Spencer said as four of them reached the front door.  
Harry turned to face Spencer his expression surprised and the younger man said, “I know the children didn't notice, but I certainly did of how you skipped over a lot of details so that they wouldn't have nightmares.”  
“I didn't know I was that obvious,” Harry said.  
“You weren't,” Hotch said, “but I noticed it too, but then the both of us are fairly observant.”  
“No child should have to face what me and my classmates did. The problem should have been taken care of by adults, but instead they were put on the shoulders of a child and then a young teenager just because of some blasted prophecy. It didn't matter if I didn't believe the prophecy was real because Voldemort did and he kept coming after me. As much as I always admired and respected Albus Dumbledore he really had a lot to answer for as he should've done something before Voldemort started his rein of terror. He knew what Tom Riddle was like doing his Hogwarts years considering he taught him Transfiguration for seven years. I'm not saying that Albus Dumbledore was evil, but he lacked common sense and believed in giving everybody, a second chance or even a third. He left me with my relatives without even bothering to check on me occasionally to make sure I was being raised well. He ignored Arbella Figg's reports about me because he thought he knew best. He was a powerful force for good it's true, but he had so much power after he defeated another dark wizard before Voldemort, by the name of Grindelwald, and also to many positions to really pay attention to the little details. Minerva McGonagall told him that the Dursleys were the worst sorts of muggles after watching them without being noticed for a whole day and they were for my Aunt Petunia hated her youngest sister Lily so much because my mother had magic and she did not and she transferred that hate onto me when I was left on her doorstep in November the day after my parents died in order to protect me. I know nobody is perfect, but the headmaster's worst mistakes always seemed to involve me. Sorry I didn't mean to rant at you. I suppose that I still have lot of pent up anger at Dumbledore for the decisions he made about me, for keeping me in the dark for so long wanting me to have a supposedly 'normal childhood',” Ginny snorted at that, “when I could have been training for what was coming. One of the things he could've done is let Sirius Black my godfather take me and it was only after I was taken away by Hagrid that he tried to track Peter Pettigrew down and was framed and thrown into Azkaban for his trouble, without a trial I might add. If Sirius had taken me like he wanted to he never would have gone after Pettigrew, would have raised me and never would've been imprisoned at all and he'd likely would still be alive today.”  
“It's okay you can rant at us anytime you want,” Hotch assured him with an understanding smile, because he did indeed understand where Harry was coming from. “Keeping all that bitterness bottled up isn't good for anybody and the more you rant the more you get it out of your system and maybe you can finally find some peace.”  
“Thanks,” Harry said with a genuine smile. “Most of the time I don't even notice the bitterness anymore because I'm so happy, but I suppose talking about the past has brought up all those old feelings.”  
“You're welcome,” Hotch said, “and believe me I do understand as I had somebody I hated as well, until she died last year, but that is another story for another time.”  
“You are welcome here tomorrow as I would like the boys to start getting to know you a little if they're going to be spending a lot of time at your home during the Christmas holidays and maybe part of the summers too,” Spencer said.  
“We'd be glad to,” Ginny said speaking for the first, “What time do you want us here?”  
“Oh about 10 o'clock or so as I'm sure the boys will sleep in a bit after they were up so late,” Hotch replied. “Unfortunately for me I'm probably going to be tired tomorrow since I have to go to work and I'm not getting any younger. I'll also invite Garcia over for dinner tomorrow night, although I'm sure she'll wonder what it's about, but I don't plan on telling her where somebody could possibly overhear.”  
“I'm sure you'll like Penelope a great deal,” Spencer told the two Potters. “She's very cheerful and outlandish, especially in the way she dresses, but she's also extremely intelligent, honest, and loyal to the people she cares about.”  
“We can't wait to meet her,” Ginny said sincerely.  
“I'm sure that you will become the best of friends with her and if you ever meet the rest of the team with them as well,” Hotch said before ushering the Potters out the front door and closing it behind them.  
“Well, it certainly has been a very astounding few days hasn't it,” Hotch said as he put an arm around Spencer's waist.  
“It has, but we can discuss it later as it is definitely time for bed because I might be able to sleep in tomorrow, but you can't.”  
Hotch groaned knowing that Spencer was right and that he was going to regret this late night in the morning since he did have to go to work and as he had told the Potters he wasn't getting any younger.  
“Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it,” Hotch said as he and Spencer headed upstairs and straight to bed since tomorrow night's dinner was going to be interesting to say the least.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Garcia,” Hotch said as he entered her very cluttered office and saw the BAU's technical analyst with her long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes sitting at her computer studying something on the screen. “Can I have a word with you?”  
It was now the just before lunch and Hotch had been at work in his office doing the paperwork since just before eight.  
Garcia turned her chair towards the sound of Hotch's voice and looked up on him in surprise. “Of course, sir, what can I do for you?”  
“Spencer and I would like to invite you over to dinner tonight about seven,” Hotch explained.  
Garcia wondered why Hotch was inviting her to dinner, but managed to contain her curiosity. “Of course, sir, I don't have any plans really,” Garcia answered. “What's this about?”  
“You'll find out during dinner,” Hotch assured her.  
“It's just that you and Spencer have never invited me to dinner at your home before.” And at Garcia's look of pleased, surprised amazement Hotch immediately felt guilty and instantly vowed to rectify the situation as soon as possible and have to whole team over to dinner. Why he had never done it before now escaped him at the moment and the only excuse he had was he was always so busy and distracted that it had just never occurred to him.  
“Oh and Garcia, you're not to mention that you're coming to dinner to anyone else, especially the rest of the team is that understood?”  
Garcia looked surprised at that, but nodded all the same.  
“And no, nothing inappropriate will be going on, Spencer and I simply want to ask you for favor and no one else needs to know.”  
Garcia nodded again and although she was very curious she knew that she couldn't get anything out of Hotch that he wasn't ready to reveal.  
“I'll see you about 6:30 or 6:45 then,” Hotch told her as he left her office.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

At 6:30 the next evening the doorbell rang to the Reid/Hotchner home.  
“Welcome, welcome,” Sara greeted Garcia as soon she had opened the front door. Penelope of course had been in the house more than than once over the last five years.  
“Aunt Penny!” Jack yelled the twins following as all three ran over to embrace the women.  
“Munchkins!” Penny exclaimed as she hugged all three of them. “My, my you're all getting so tall!”  
It was true especially in the case of the twins who were 5'5" which was at least a foot over what was considered normal for 11 years old but then again their father was over 6 feet and had been the same height when he was a child. Jack on the other hand was a couple inches shorter and yet he was a year older, but he was in what was considered an acceptable range for his age.  
All three children ranged between 90 to 100 pounds which was considered normal for their ages, although they were also more muscled then most of their classmates from all that martial arts lessons and exercise they underwent.  
“Good evening, Penelope,” Spencer greeted as soon as she had entered the den.  
“Evening,” Garcia said. “I was surprised when Hotch and invited me for dinner tonight.”  
“I can understand that reaction,” Spencer told her with a mischievous smile as he got up off the couch and came to give Garcia a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I know you're very curious as to why Aaron invited you for dinner, but all will be explained after supper.”  
“Oh, now you've gotten my curiosity up,” Garcia whined and she was indeed very curious.  
Spencer grinned unrepentantly and told her, “Well you'll just have to wait until after dinner to have your curiosity satisfied.”  
“Ahh!” Garcia whined, but Spencer held firm until finally she gave in. “Where is Hotch?”  
“Oh he should be down in a minute, he took a nap after he got home from work since he had such a late night and he overslept is all,” Spencer told her with a shrug.  
“Did I hear my name?” asked Hotch coming into the den and giving Spencer a kiss on the the cheek. “I am sorry I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived, but as Spencer just said I overslept.”  
“Oh, it's all right,” Garcia told him. “I am curious as to why you asked me to dinner though and requested that I not mention it to the rest of the team.”  
“You'll find out after we eat,” Hotch assured her with a grin knowing that the woman's curiosity must be eating her alive.  
“Ah!” Garcia said knowing better than to argue with Hotch since he wouldn't tell her no matter what she did or how she begged, so she didn't bother.  
The doorbell rang again and this time Hotch went to answer it and when he returned he had two people with him.  
“Penelope, I'd like to introduce you to Harry and Ginny Potter.” Garcia stiffened and let out a gasp at that for she did indeed recognize the name of Harry Potter, since she was a witch, although none of the team knew that.  
“I see you recognize my name,” Harry said smiling knowing at that moment that Penelope Garcia was a witch.  
Both Spencer and Hotch looked back-and-forth between the Potters and Garcia but they didn't have time to ask any questions because at that moment Sara came and stood in the doorway and announced that dinner was ready and that they needed to come and eat before it got cold so everybody trooped into the dining room and sat down at their places.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

It was an hour later after a delicious dinner when everybody including the three children and Sara trooped into the more formal living room and all found seats.  
“From my reaction when I met the Potters I'm guessing that you now know that I'm a witch,” Garcia began before anybody else could speak.  
“Both of us have come to that conclusion,” Hotch said after looking at Spencer who nodded because he too had come to the same conclusion, “and there's no reason to tell us why you never said anything because we've picked up a lot of information in the last few days and we know that the wizarding world is almost like a secret society and must remain that way.”  
“I'm glad you understand and don't hold it against me,” Garcia said looking relieved.  
“Even if we hadn't picked up all this information over the last couple of days and we found out about you we wouldn't stop being your friends,” Spencer assured her, “Even if it took us awhile to absorb the shock.”  
“Thanks to Penelope being a witch this changes some things and we are no longer breaking the law by telling you about ourselves since you already know about the magical world,” Harry said.  
“Are you finally going to tell me exactly why you told Hotch and Spencer about the wizarding world?” asked Garcia. “Isn't that breaking the law even if they live in America and not England.”  
“No it's not,” Ginny informed Garcia calmly, “because Harry discovered while he was doing some research into his family tree that the Reids are very distantly related to him.”  
“You're related to Harry Potter?” asked Garcia looking so astonished that everybody in the room couldn't help laughing for it was hard to surprise Penelope Garcia.  
“I'll tell you the same story that I told everybody else a few days ago,” Harry offered and Garcia nodded looking intensely curious.  
Harry then preceded to tell Garcia how he had discovered that Spencer and his sons were very distantly related to the Potter line. When he had finished everybody was silent giving Garcia time to absorb the information she had just been given since they all knew it was a lot to take in.  
“So you're saying that about 300 years ago one of your squib ancestors moved to America got married and had a family of his own and that Spencer and his sons are his direct descendants. You are also saying that Lochlan and Landon have the ability to do magic just like you and I do and that is the reason you told his parents about the wizarding world.”  
“That's it in a nutshell,” Harry agreed. “Of course I was delighted that I had some family, no matter how distant, that shared the Potter blood, because before I got married and had Ginny's and my three children I was the last remaining Potter or at least I was as far as I knew. When I was a teenager I used to dream about having a family of my own even if I knew the odds of me surviving until I was old enough to even think about that were about a million to one and yet here I am.”  
“So why tell me at all?” asked Garcia.  
“Because I told the Potters that if we disappeared to England by magical means and you got curious as to where we had disappeared to that you wouldn't stop until you found us,” Hotch told Garcia with a knowing grin. “I know about your innate curiosity and so I just thought it was better to head off a potential problem at the pass so to speak.”  
Garcia blushed at Hotch words for he was, of course, correct as she knew she had more curiosity then anybody else she had ever known and also the determination to see whatever goal she set for herself through so Hotch was correct.  
“So you are going to go to England? By Portkey?” asked Garcia.  
“How did you know that?” asked Spencer in surprise.  
“Because a Portkey is the only magical means of travel that is good for that amount of distance,” Garcia explained, “well unless you have the power to Apparate that far, but you have to know precisely where you're going in that case.”  
“Most witches and wizards don't have the power to Apparate, which means to disappear from one place and reappear in another, over the amount of distance that is between England and America,” Ginny explained. “There are a few that could do it, but not many and if you are double Apparating someone it would take twice as much power and concentration. It's just not practical.”  
“So why are you going to England?”  
“Because we've been offered a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Landon answered excitedly before any of the adults could, “and our parents wanted to go and see the school for themselves and also meet Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's children.”  
“That is right,” Hotch told Garcia who looked disbelieving. “I'm getting ready to take some unpaid leave so that I can go with them.”  
“When I found out that the twins were down for Hogwarts I asked that I be the one that informed them of their place at the school,” Harry said, “especially once I realized that they were related to the Potter line.”  
“But Hogwarts doesn't usually get students from America,” Garcia said.  
“That's true,” Harry admitted, “and I believe the reason that is, is because they are related to the Potters even if it's a very distant connection. The Potters have always gone to Hogwarts all the way back to the first of the line Richard who lived in the time of the founders.”  
“There are other schools closer to home,” Garcia pointed out.  
“So Harry and Ginny have already told us,” Spencer said. “They said that Salem Academy would be the closest and would be contacting us sometime in the next week or two.”  
“That is where I went,” said Garcia.  
“Why become a technical analyst for the FBI instead of going into some kind of wizarding vocation?” asked Ginny curiously.  
“Well for one thing I'm muggle-born and I've always had a way with computers. Another is I never finished my education because my parents passed away and so I couldn't really get a job in the wizarding world, well not anything that would have paid the bills anyway. I only took my O.W.L.s. and not my N.E.W.T.s.”  
“Owls? Newts?” asked Spencer.  
“They're abbreviations for Ordinary Wizarding Levels, which are taken at the end of fifth year and qualify you for further studies and the other one is at the end of seventh year and is an abbreviation for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. The wizarding world doesn't grade like muggles with A, B, and C and so forth we have Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations, and Outstanding are the passing grades and the ones where you failed the class are Poor, Dreadful, and Troll,” Ginny explained. “You'll find that you're good in some classes, average in others, and excellent in yet others.”  
“My best class at Hogwarts when I went was defense against the dark arts as I just seemed to have a real knack for that particular branch of magic,” Harry said. “I also did well in charms to and got an Outstanding in both.”  
“Mine was charms, transfiguration, and potions,” said Ginny. “Oh we passed everything but those classes were the only ones we got were Outstandings and the rest were Exceeds Expectations.  
“Except for history of magic that is and I barely scraped an Acceptable in that,” Harry snickered.  
“I would think history would be a fascinating subject,” Spencer commented.  
“It's a lot better now then when Ginny and I were going to school,” Harry explained. “The class was taught by ghost by the name of Cuthbert Binns. The story goes that when he was first hired he was alive, but then he died suddenly quite a few decades later and he came back as a ghost to continue teaching the students history. The only problem is that all he taught about were goblin rebellions and the giants and the way he droned on and on put most of the students to sleep after just a few minutes. Also his lessons were at least 50 years out of date and yet Dumbledore kept him on instead of hiring a proper history teacher that would make the subject come alive for the students. Once Minerva McGonagall was made headmistress at the death of Dumbledore practically the first thing she did other then repairing the castle from the battle with Voldemort and his allies, was hire a decent teacher for that subject.”  
“The grades for history of magic have gone up considerably since then, I only wish that we'd had a decent teacher when we went, one that made the subject fascinating instead of just dry facts recited from a book,” Ginny said.  
“So you're telling us that ghosts are real?” asked Hotch in disbelief and the Potters and Garcia nodded.  
“Yes, they are and in fact each of the houses at Hogwarts has a house ghost. Nearly Headless Nick is the one for Gryffindor, the Bloody Baron is the Slytherin ghost, the Grey Lady is the one for Ravenclaw and the Fat Friar is the Hufflepuff ghost. Well, you don't have to believe us but you'll see for yourself when you visit Hogwarts in a week or so as they are there year around.”  
“Ghosts are real! That is so cool!” Lochlan exclaimed looking excited about meeting a real ghost.  
“There are so many things about the wizarding world you will find that seem to be utterly impossible and yet they're real,” Harry said with a smile. “Believe me I was just as much in disbelief as you are the first time I learned that magic was very real since I was living with my muggle aunt and uncle that absolutely loathed magic, which meant by extension that they hated me as well. I had been told my whole life that my parents and died in a car crash, and that magic didn't exist. I was discouraged from asking questions, so imagine my reaction the first time I was told I was a wizard and that my parents hadn't died in a car crash. The first time I walked into Diagon Alley it was like walking into a different world with sights and sounds that you would never find in the plain, ordinary one.”  
“You were abused!” Garcia said outraged.  
Harry looked startled as he had forgotten she was there at all. “Yes, well I've gotten over that, mostly and I haven't seen my aunt, uncle or cousin, ever since I left when I was 17 and I never once looked back,” Harry told Garcia.  
“You might have forgiven them, but I've certainly haven't,” Ginny said looking fierce. “Weasleys have been known to hold a grudge until the day they die. What they did to you was deplorable, especially since your Aunt Petunia was your mother's older sister. She should've taken you in and treated you like a son and instead she let her jealousy of her sister transfer onto you, an innocent toddler.”  
“Why were you put there?” asked Garcia. “I would think that would be plenty of wizarding families that would've been willing to take you in.”  
“Dumbledore always said that because my aunt and cousin were my last living relatives that I had to stay with them. It had to do something with the fact that my mother sacrificed her life in order to protect me. He said something about blood wards, which is old magic, much older then what is practiced today. At the time of my parents deaths Voldemort might've been temporarily gone, but there was still plenty of Death Eaters out there that would have wished me harm.”  
“He never bothered to check up on you to make sure you were okay?” asked Garcia in astonishment.  
“Nope, I had no contact with the wizarding world until I turned 11 and got my letter and Uncle Vernon tried to prevent me from getting that,” Harry said shaking his head. “Professor McGonagall even warned Dumbledore that they were the worst sorts of muggles as she had been watching them for the whole day in her Animagus form.” Harry shrugged and said, “Anyway it's over with I never have to see them again, so let's drop the subject, shall we?”  
The rest of the conversation was pleasant, although it was clear that Garcia was still seething just from her body language.  
Finally the evening came to an end and Harry and Ginny were to the first out the door promising that they would come by tomorrow.  
As Garcia was preparing to leave Hotch stopped her. “I hope you realize that what was said tonight is not to be spread around. That Harry said something about his life with his relatives with you there is a measure of how much he trusts you and us. I've only known the Potters for a few days, but I do know, that Harry doesn't trust easily and if you ever break that trust, you'll never regain it and he will just freeze you out of his life entirely.”  
Spencer nodded in agreement for he to had picked that up about Harry's personality over the last few days. After what he had been through though, if you knew anything about his life at all, you couldn't really blame him for being like that.  
“I don't plan on saying anything at all,” Garcia assured the two. “Get Harry and Ginny to tell you about their roles in the wizarding war as I'm sure they haven't since from what I know of Harry Potter he is very modest.”  
“No they haven't told us the whole story, although from several comments that have been made I take it that the two of them played a major role.”  
“They did, as did Ginny's brother Ron Weasley and their other best friend Hermione Granger,” Garcia agreed, “but it's not my story to tell and I didn't live through it like they did. Just know though that they are heroes in every sense of the word as are a lot of other people who fought and survived Voldemort's reign of terror.”  
“Good night, Penelope, I'll see you at work tomorrow,” Hotch said.  
“Good night, Hotch, Spencer,” Garcia said. “Just do me a favor, would you?”  
“What's the favor?” asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow.  
“When you do go to England to check out Hogwarts could you make sure you call me at least every other day so that I know you're okay? It's true that the phones won't work in high magical areas like Hogwarts, but they should work in other places. If you call me at least that way I can honestly tell the team that you're doing okay and that you'll be back. Besides you know what a terrible liar I am so I'd rather not have to as the team would never believe me as they know me too well and will know I'm lying.”  
“We'll see what we can do,” Hotch said. “We'll have to talk to Harry and Ginny and see what they say.”  
Garcia nodded and said good night again before heading out the front door Hotch closing it behind her.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A week later they were preparing for their trip to England by Portkey. Hotch and Spencer had packed a couple of suitcases apiece while Sara had helped the three boys pack their clothes for at least a couple of weeks.  
“Are you sure you don't want to come with us?” asked Spencer looking at Sara beginning to feel guilty for leaving her totally by herself.  
“No, I don't,” Sara assured them. “I'll enjoy the peace and quiet while you're gone.”  
“Well, if you're sure,” Spencer said.  
“I am,” Sara said. “Besides someone needs to stay behind in order to create the illusion that you have just gone on vacation the normal way.”  
“Alright then, if you have any problems you know how to contact us in case of an emergency,” Hotch said.  
Sara nodded and Hotch and Spencer gave her kisses on the cheek while the three boys hugged her.  
“We'll miss you, Sara,” Jack said.  
“I'll miss you too, sweethearts,” Sara assured the boys returning the hugs and adding kisses on the forehead for all three. “Don't you worry though I'll see you in two or three weeks. All of you just have a good time and you can tell me all about it when you get back.”  
The boys were practically vibrating with excitement and the adults could hardly blame them for in the last week and a half they had discovered that magic was real and were looking forward to exploring more of the magical world.  
“Is everybody ready? Harry and Ginny should be here any minute,” Spencer called to the boys.  
“We're ready,” said the boys racing downstairs each rolling a suitcase behind them.  
Just as the boys got downstairs to join their parents the doorbell rang and Sara went to answer it.  
The rest of the family in the den heard Sara greet the Potters and a few seconds later heard footsteps heading in their direction.  
“Good morning everyone,” Harry greeted everyone with a smile.  
“Morning,” Hotch, Spencer and Sara said while the boys just raced towards the Potters and gave them hugs of greeting.  
“So is everyone ready to go? I have a Portkey all prepared and it will activate two minutes after I take it out of the bag,” Ginny said and everybody then noticed the bag she had slung over her shoulder.  
“Yes we are ready,” Hotch said. “Don't you have any luggage?”  
“It's all shrunk down and in this bag,” Ginny said point to her satchel her eyes sparkling at their looks of amazement. “If you would like us to do the same with your things we can. I promise you we can re-enlarge them once we reach our destination, well so long as it is not anything electronic.”  
“It's going to be something of a wild ride, although it won't last more than a few minutes, so you might want to follow Ginny's advice,” Harry said.  
Hotch and Spencer looked to each other while the three boys looked excited at seeing some more magic, but finally the two adults nodded knowing that it would be easier.  
Harry and Ginny both took out their wands from their invisible wand holsters on their upper arms and said together each pointing at a separate piece of luggage, “Reducio.”  
Immediately two streaks of light left the two wands and hit two of the pieces of luggage which immediately begin to reduce in size until they were small enough to fit in Ginny's satchel.  
“Wow! That was really neat!” Jack said wishing that he had magic just like the twins, but he knew that if he had he would have been contacted last year when he had been 11.  
It wasn't more than a few seconds later that all the luggage was shrunk and put into Ginny's satchel.  
“Isn't that bag kind of heavy?” asked Lochlan as Ginny Swung the bag back over her shoulder.  
“No,” Ginny told the boy gently, “lightening charm you know, which makes it feel like it doesn't weigh more than a few pounds. No matter how much you put in it, it never gets an ounce heavier.”  
“Wow!” all three boys said this time.  
“Now we need to get going, mom is expecting us,” Harry said. “When I take the Portkey out of Ginny's satchel you all need to at least have one fingertip touching it and you need to make sure that you don't let go no matter what. The trip shouldn't take more then a couple of minutes at most.”  
“We should probably all join hands just in case,” Ginny suggested.  
“A good idea,” Harry said. “When you feel yourself start the land make sure you all bend your knees or you might find yourself falling on your butt. I know this because it happened to me the first time I used a Portkey when I was 14.”  
Hotch reinforced Harry's instructions to make sure the three children would obey as he didn't want anything to happen to any of them.  
“Alright then,” Ginny said opening her satchel. “We should land right outside the Burrow, which is the house I grew up in.”  
“Oh Ginny we nearly forgot to give them those necklaces with the charms on them so that they can see things like the Leaky Cauldron.”  
“Thanks for reminding me, love,” Ginny said kissing his cheek. Ginny rooted around in her satchel again and pulled out three necklaces that looked like silver amulets shaped like lions. She handed them to Hotch, Spencer and Jack and then told them, “Don't ever take them off even in the shower. Don't worry they won't tarnish since they have an anti-tarnishing charm on them.”  
The three who had been handed the necklaces draped them around their necks without even having to undo the clasps since the chains were fairly long.  
Ginny began to dig around in her satchel again and finally pulled out what looked like a an empty can of soda.  
“Before you ask a Portkey spell can be cast on anything and so we just bought this out of the fridge of the hotel where we are staying, drank the soda and used the can to make the Portkey. Now everybody touch at least a fingertip to the can and all of you grab hands as the Portkey will be going off in about 45 seconds and anybody not touching it will be left behind,” Harry instructed.  
The three children immediately touched a fingertip to the soda can, the four adults doing the same, while also grabbing a hand until they were all connected.  
“Here we go!” Ginny said as the can started to glow a faint blue.  
“One, two, three...” As Harry said three everybody touching the Portkey felt as if they had hooks behind their navels and then they vanished as if they had never been there at all, leaving Sara staring at the space her family had just been.  
Let them be okay, Sara prayed silently. They are all I have.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The seven of them landed bending their knees as they did, so that they wouldn't fall on their butts in a front yard of what looked like a very poorly built farmhouse.  
“Welcome to the Burrow,” Ginny said, “and yes, I'm aware that the house is crooked, but don't worry despite how it looks it is quite sturdy.”  
Before Ginny could say anything else a woman with red hair who looked enough like Ginny to be her mother appeared at the back door where she had been watching for them from the window.  
“Ginny, Harry, welcome home,” said the woman as she rushed to greet her daughter and son-in-law given each of them hugs and kisses on the cheek. “James, Art and Lily have missed you and have been asking when you were going to be home.”  
“James has been missing us?” asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow. “I take it he's finally over being mad at us because we grounded him for the summer?”  
“Mostly,” Molly admitted with a smile. “Both your father and I have had some serious talks with him.”  
“Mom, I'd like you to meet my distant cousin Spencer Reid and his twin sons Lochlan and Landon,” Harry introduced, “and this is my Spencer's partner Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack. Spencer, Aaron, boys this is Ginny's mother, Molly Weasley.”  
“It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Molly said shaking the two adults hands not showing any reaction to the fact that Harry had introduced Aaron as his cousin's romantic partner. “I know all of you have had a lot to absorb in the last few days so if you have any questions go ahead and ask and my family and I will do our best to answer them.”  
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Aaron said as he shook Molly's hand.  
“Oh it's nothing,” Molly said with wave of dismissal, “Why don't you all come inside as I've just finished baking some cookies.”  
They all entered the Burrow and the Reid/Hotchner household looked around noticing the differences between the Weasley home and their own. The boys were of course fascinated at all the strange things that they encountered, the adults to really.  
“Where are the kids?” Ginny asked her mother.  
“Art and Lily should be out in the orchard practicing Quidditch,” Molly said. “James, is up in Bill's old room doing his summer homework.”  
“Oh, I bet you that hurt him a lot to have to miss out on playing Quidditch,” Harry said looking just a little sympathetic. It wasn't that James didn't deserve his punishment but to miss out on playing a sport that you were absolutely crazy about had to hurt a lot.  
“It did as I could hear him stomping around upstairs for a couple of hours after I told him that he was on restriction and that he was not allowed to go and play Quidditch with his siblings,” Molly said shaking her head. “James reminds me so much of Fred and George when they were children, but even they never hurt anyone. You know we only had to punish the twins severely once and that was when they tried to get Ron to take an Unbreakable Vow and for that they got put on restriction for the whole summer. Ron was only like three at the time and the twins five. Arthur was so furious that he actually paddled them and then lectured them until that their ears about fell off. My husband is usually pretty mild mannered and almost never loses his temper but that time was a rare exception.”  
“What exactly is an Unbreakable Vow? It must be serious for them to get that kind of punishment.”  
“As the name implies you take a vow except it's done with magic,” Ginny explained, “if you break it then you die immediately and also messily.”  
Spencer and Aaron went completely white at Ginny's explanation and they now understood why Fred and George had been punished, so severely.  
“Ron was only three and he didn't understand that taking the vow could cost him his life,” Molly said shaking her head. “After that incident, although Fred and George still pulled pranks they never hurt anyone. I've never seen Arthur so furious since as he takes most things in stride. I never did figure out how the twins got ahold of my wand, for you need a wand in order to do that particular piece of magic. Ginny, Harry, why don't you give our guests the grand tour?” said Molly changing the subject suddenly.  
“Alright, mom,” Harry said giving Molly a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
“Where exactly in England is this?” asked Spencer as he continued to look around in fascination.  
“The Burrow is located outside the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole, in Devon,” Ginny answered. “I believe you will discover that a lot of witches and wizards live out in the country usually outside rural villages with only a small muggle population.” Ginny led the way into a room that had several couches and chairs and an old fashioned radio that sat on the floor in the corner. “This is the living room where the family and of course invited guests usually spends Christmas.” Harry and Ginny led them upstairs and showed them the bedrooms on the next floor with a bathroom at the end of the hall.  
It didn't take long for the Potters to show their guests the whole house and then they headed back downstairs and to the kitchen where Molly was just placing a platter of cookies on the kitchen table.  
“Show them everything?” asked Molly.  
“Well everything except the apple orchard where we play Quidditch,” Ginny said, “but we can do that after a snack.”  
“What's Quidditch?” asked Spencer before any of the children could speak up. “You've mentioned it a couple of times in the least hour.”  
“It's an extremely popular wizarding sport. Really the only wizarding sport,” Harry said his expression turning dreamy, “it's played on broomsticks in the air.” Harry then went on to describe the basics of the game to his attentive audience. “If you really want to know the ins and outs of the sport you need to ask Ron as while I know the basics I don't know about tactics and strategy like Ron does. Ron practically breathes Quidditch.”  
Ginny giggled at that for it was true.  
“I had better go up and talk to James,” Ginny said finally as she finished her snack.  
“Why don't I show you where the Weasleys in the Potters play Quidditch?” Harry suggested, “that is if you're done with your snacks.”  
“That's fine with me,” Spencer agreed and the kids nodded enthusiastically and Hotch just decided that he was going to tag along not wanting to admit that he was curious as well.  
They all trooped out to the ancient apple orchard where Weasleys for generations had practiced Quidditch using apples instead of actual Quaffles, Bludgers and Snitches.  
“Dad!” Art and Lily yelled from the air at the same time excitedly when they spotted him. “You're home!”  
The two children raced towards the ground on their brooms and Hotch and Spencer cringed thinking they were going to crash, but then the the two children pulled up at the very last second and landed gently.  
“Art! Lily! Don't scare our guests to death,” Harry gently scolded them. “They were sure you were going to crash. They aren't used to the wizarding world yet.”  
“Sorry!” both children said the same time looking contrite, both swinging their brooms over their shoulders.  
“Children, I would like to introduce you to Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack and your distant cousins Dr. Spencer Reid and his twin sons Lochlan and Landon. The twins will probably be joining you, Art at Hogwarts this coming September.”  
“Really dad?” asked Lily. “I thought you said that you didn't have any relatives on your side of the family besides us and James.”  
“Well that was before I found our family tree in book form that automatically updates in the Potter library,” Harry said. “When I told you that I truly believed that you two and James were the only ones besides me that had the Potter blood.”  
“It's nice to meet you,” Art said politely shaking Aaron's and Spencer's hands. “I'm Arthur William Potter, but you can call me Art, since my grandfather shares the same name. This is my little sister Lily Luna.”  
“It's very nice to meet you,” Hotch said thinking that Harry's son was very polite and well-mannered as he returned the handshake Spencer doing the same.  
“It's nice to meet you,” Lily said a little shyly shaking the two adults hands.  
Spencer studied the two children trying not to be obvious about it and saw immediately that both looked like their parents. Art looked almost exactly like his father with messy black hair, and green eyes, but he had his mother's nose and the shape of her eyes as well as her chin, the rest through was all Harry's. Lily though looked more like her mother with her red hair and basic face shape, except she had her father's nose and green eyes.  
“We're sorry if we scared you when we dove like that,” Lily told Aaron and Spencer.  
“It's alright,” Spencer said. “Aaron and I realize that we still have a lot to learn about the wizarding world.”  
“If you don't mind mom has invited us to stay for dinner and invited the rest of the family to meet you,” Harry said. “We'll be going to our place after that.”  
“That's fine,” Aaron said and Spencer nodded agreeably. “What will we be doing tomorrow?”  
“Well, McGonagall is expecting us, at 10 AM for a tour of Hogwarts as you requested. After that if that doesn't take the rest of the day we can take you to Diagon Alley and show you around.”  
“Do you mind if we go play some Gobstones and show Jack, Loch and Lan how to play?” asked Art at the natural pause in the conversation.  
All the adults immediately noticed how Art had shortened the names of the twins, even though neither one had been shortened before this. The twins themselves certainly didn't seem to object to the shortening of their names.  
“What's Gobstones?” asked Spencer.  
“It's a wizarding game that is similar to marbles, except for the fact that the marbles squirt out a foul smelling liquid into the face of the player when they lose a point. The liquid isn't dangerous and can be easily cleaned up,” Harry explained.  
“Alright then, you can go play if you like,” Spencer told the twins and Jack.  
“Yeah!” the five children cheered and raced towards the house known as the Burrow.  
“Well, we won't have to worry about them again until dinner,” Harry chuckled, “as the game will keep them occupied.”  
The four adults trooped back inside and sat down in the living room.  
“Exactly how will we be traveling to this Potter manor you mentioned a few times?” asked Spencer his curiosity about the magical world practically eating him alive. “Another Portkey?”  
“No now that we're back in the country we can simply Floo as there are two many of us to Apparate without making several trips.  
“Flew?” asked Hotch mispronouncing it.  
“Floo, F l o o,” Harry corrected. “It is a way for our kind to travel, especially those underage who can't legally Apparate yet since you can't take the test for that until you're at least 17, which is considered of age in the wizarding world. The Floo network is controlled by the Ministry of Magic and they are responsible for creating the Floo powder that you throw into the lit fireplace. Once the flames of the fireplace turn green you can step into them and call out your destination, where you will be instantly whisked away. The one thing you have to remember though is you have to really watch out for your destination and step forward at the right time so it might be better if somebody who knows where they're going, travel together the first time. You will have to be careful though for that way of travel can make you feel nauseated and I don't remember the number of times I fell to my knees every time I stepped out of the fireplace until I finally got the hang of it, which took quite a long time. Of course if I had been raised in the wizarding world I would've gotten the hang of it long before I did, because as I said that's the way that children with magic travel and I would have grown up knowing the proper posture in order to stay on my feet.”  
“Is that the only way to go?” asked Hotch looking apprehensive at using the Floo network.  
“Well I guess we could take another Portkey,” Harry said. “I have to admit that Floo travel isn't exactly my favorite way to go anywhere and hasn't been since I first entered the wizarding world and used it. The only problem is that Portkey travel is highly regulated, although it is legal to create one for your own home. I warn you though that we will have to Floo to Hogwarts tomorrow for Portkey travel doesn't work unless it's actually created by the current headmaster or mistress as there are many ancient wards surrounding the school.”  
“Are you sure that Floo travel will work with the non-magical?” asked Spencer who was becoming more and more fascinated with the magical world, a world he had never known existed until just over a week ago and he could tell that Hotch felt the same.  
“Yes,” Harry answered confidently. “The magic is in the Floo powder itself, which means that both muggles and magical folks can use it.”  
“I suppose we're going to have to get used to Floo travel,” Hotch said looking resigned, “so we might as well go that way when we head to your home after dinner.”  
“Believe me I sympathize with you,” Harry told him sincerely.  
Ginny reappeared in the living room just then and told Harry, “You need to go up and have a talk with our son. He's mostly forgiven us for grounding him because he knows he deserved it, but he's still a little upset, especially about not being able to play Quidditch.”  
“Why did I know that that's what would upset him the most?” Harry asked with a wry smile shaking his head.  
“Because you know how Quidditch crazy he is?” Ginny suggested rhetorically with a small smile.  
“Like parents, like son,” Harry said grinning now.  
Harry got up from the chair he was sitting in and headed upstairs to talk to his son.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several hours later at about five in the afternoon Weasleys began arriving, the first to show up were Ron and Hermione.  
“Harry! Ginny!” Hermione exclaimed as she rushed forward as soon she had stepped inside the Burrow from the Apparition point in the backyard. “Ron and I have missed you two so much,” Hermione said hugging each of them.  
“We were only gone for a month or so Hermione,” Ginny pointed out logically trying not to grin at her friend's enthusiasm.  
“Yes, well, when you are as close as the four of us are, of course you were missed while you were gone, even though I do understand why you needed a vacation with just the two of you.”  
“How have you been, Ron?” asked Harry as soon as he was released from Hermione's hug. “Everything going okay?”  
“It's going great, mate,” Ron assured him as the two of them hugged as well, in a manly way.  
“How are Rose, Hugo and Danny?” The youngest child was named after Hermione's father Daniel Granger.  
“They're just fine and they should be here any minute as we left Rose in charge. She should be directing them to use the Floo to come here.”  
Just then Harry and Ron saw the flames in the fireplace turn green, which meant that the Floo was active and out stumbled Daniel who immediately moved away from the fireplace as not more than a minute later Hugo came tumbling out of the Floo almost losing his footing and finally Rose.  
“Come here you lot and give your old grandma a hug,” Molly told the three children who obeyed her and hugged her all at the same time.  
“Hey doesn't your old grandpa get a hug too?” asked Arthur trying to look hurt and the three children rushed over to Arthur hugging him too.  
Arthur Weasley had arrived home just a couple of hours ago from work and had greeted the Reid/Hotchner families politely but with genuine warmth and both Spencer and Hotch immediately knew that here was a man that didn't care if they were magical or muggle, here was a man that treated everybody he met equally and didn't care a wit if you were a pureblood, half-blood, muggle-born, muggle or squib. Here was a man that was probably looked down on and sneered at by a certain faction of the wizarding society because they were secretly jealous of the genuineness of the man and how he didn't care what other's thought of him. Here was a man that always did the right thing no matter what it cost him.  
“Ron, Hermione, I'd like to introduce you to my distant cousins from America. This is Dr. Spencer Reid, and his twin sons Lochlan and Landon and this is Spencer's partner Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack. Aaron, Spencer, boys, these are my two best friends since I was 11 Hermione Granger-Weasley and her husband Ron.”  
“It's nice to meet you all,” Hermione said immediately giving both men an appraising look that told both of them immediately that she had already figured out that they were romantically involved just from Harry's introduction, while her husband still seemed clueless. “It's nice for Harry to find family on his side. I'm sure you know that he thought that he was the last one besides his children.”  
“We did,” Spencer agreed. “It's been a rather interesting week and a half.”  
“I just bet it has,” Hermione said by way of agreement. “I know exactly what is like to be thrown into an entirely different culture and finding out the fact that magic was real on top on that. My parents are like you, muggles. They're dentist actually.”  
Hermione chatted with Hotch and Spencer easily, and both saw that Harry had been right that Hermione was indeed very intelligent, maybe even as smart as Spencer was. Finally the conversation ended and Hermione turned to Harry, “So I see all that research I did for you has paid off.”  
“Yes and thank you for doing the research for me,” Harry said with a grin giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
“You're welcome,” Hermione told him returning the hug. “I am truly happy for you Harry that you found someone from your side of the family.”  
“And just think Lochlan and Landon might be joining Rose, and Art at Hogwarts this coming September.”  
“You mean?” asked Hermione in astonishment and Harry gave her a decisive not.  
“I checked the Hogwarts book of names before Ginny and I ever went to America and both of them are on it. When I told Minerva and Kingsley they agreed to let Ginny and I be the ones to make the contact since they are my relatives no matter how distant.”  
“But they live in America so why were they listed in the Hogwarts book of names?” asked Hermione.  
The Hogwarts book of names was the book that listed every magical child born in both England, Scotland and Ireland.  
“Minerva was as astonished as I was, but I believe it's because they have the Potter blood and every single member of my family has always gone to Hogwarts,” Harry said with a shrug. “The twins are the first ever since Edwin Potter to have the ability to do magic as the rest have been squibs, including Edwin himself.” Harry shrugged. “That's my theory anyway.”  
“Well it's as good a theory as any,” Hermione admitted sounding surprised.  
“You don't need to sound so surprised, Hermione,” Harry told her with a grin. “I'm not a complete dunce you know. I can think, and I was bound to pick up some stuff from you over the years.”  
Hermione looked abashed that she knew very well that Harry was very intelligent despite his grades when he'd gone to Hogwarts, he just never had the right motivation to do well and with Voldemort always after him it was no wonder his grades weren't as good as they could have been.  
“But you still asked me to do the research into your family tree for you,” Hermione pointed out.  
“Well, everybody that knows you, knows that you have a real talent for research and it would've taken me much longer to do it myself instead of just having you do it in the first place,” Harry said with a shrug.  
Hermione blushed pink at the praise.  
“You do have a particular talent for research, Hermione, you have to admit that,” Ginny told her friend sincerely.  
Before Hermione could respond Molly called, “Dinner everyone, we're eating out in the backyard since there are to many people for the kitchen.”  
Everybody trooped out the backyard the children racing each other and getting their before the adults.  
Everybody sat down, although Harry and Ginny went and helped Molly bring out the platters of food to the table.  
“Help yourselves everyone,” Molly said. “There's plenty more where that came from for anyone who wants seconds or even thirds.”  
Aaron, Spencer, the twins and Jack dug into the food and found that it was as delicious as it smelled and that Harry had been right when he said that Molly's cooking rivaled Sara's.  
“See? Didn't I tell you?” Harry whispered smilingly to Spencer and Aaron as soon he saw the look on their faces. “Didn't I tell you that mom's cooking was as good as Sara's?”  
“You were right,” Spencer admitted taking another humongous bite a look of bliss covering his face.  
The conversation around the dinner table was loud, but then again there were more than thirty people so it wasn't really all that surprising. All the Weasleys were there with their families including Percy who was still Harry's least favorite member of the family.  
“Wow! Your family is humongous,” Landon said as he looked at all the people eating and talking.  
“Yes, it is pretty big,” Ginny admitted as she looked around that her family, “but then again you have to remember mom and dad had seven children and those seven children, except for Charlie, are married and have children of their own.”  
“Didn't you say something about the purebloods having trouble conceiving?” asked Hotch seeming to remember Ginny saying something about that.  
“Yes that's mostly true,” Ginny admitted, “but the Weasleys are the exception to the rule.”  
“You know why I think your parents didn't have any trouble conceiving?” asked Harry.  
“Why?” asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow.  
“Love,” Harry answered simply. “Dumbledore once told me that love is a powerful magic all its own. Most purebloods don't marry for love you know, they marry to keep the bloodlines pure while your parents did the opposite. Your parents married because they loved each other and each of your siblings and yourself was born of that love. As much as how Dumbledore treated me has made me bitter, I'm not denying he was a very wise wizard and in this case I think he was correct.”  
Ginny thought about it and then nodded for she believed that Harry was correct. “Your theory makes a lot of sense,” Ginny told her husband giving him a kiss on the cheek “and that is probably exactly why they were able to have so many of us. Did you know that the purebloods have interbred so much that a lot of family lines are on the verge of dying out because they are very close to becoming infertile?”  
Ginny directed her question to Spencer and Hotch and both shook their heads, although it did make sense if the purebloods had indeed interbred themselves for centuries it was no wonder that they were becoming infertile.  
“We'll they are,” Ginny said. “Most of the time the pureblood families only have one child and seem to be unable to have more than two at the most since they have so much trouble conceiving. At one time pureblooded families would have five or six children before they became so interbred. Of course a lot of old family lines were destroyed in the first war with Voldemort, because they refused to follow him, so that's partly why there are so few true purebloods left, but even if those family lines had survived the purebloods would still be facing infertility and other problems due to, too much interbreeding somewhere down the line. It's true that my parents and their children are pureblooded, but most of mom and dad's children married half-bloods or muggle-borns, including me so the children are not considered purebloods.”  
“That's really what the whole wizarding war was about you know,” Harry told them softly not wanting anybody else to hear them for the wounds that had been caused during the war, well he didn't want to reopen them. “A lot of the purebloods believed at that time that they were better than anyone else, that they were superior, and that, nobody not pure of blood had the right to learn magic. They believed they had the right to wipe out half-bloods and muggle-borns. A lot of purebloods who believed this followed Voldemort and they found much to their horror that Tom Riddle didn't care one iota about them and if they displeased them they were punished.”  
“We can tell you more later if you like, but now is not really the time to talk about it with all these children present. They know the basics of what happened during the war, but not the details and all of us would prefer to keep it that way. They don't need to know what their parents went through or how many good people died at least not until they're older.”  
Everybody nodded and fell silent concentrating on their meals, but answering questions from the other members of the family when one was directed at them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The next morning Hotch got up before Spencer, which wasn't at all unusual and looked down at his lover of over seven years. The last couple of weeks had been so astounding that he was still reeling from the fact that magic was very real and he was sure that Spencer was as well. It was true that he had seen quite a few things that were extremely hard to believe working for the BAU, but nothing he had come across in all his years with the FBI came close to what he had experienced in the last two weeks.  
Finding out that Penelope Garcia was a witch somehow made perfect sense as she had always been odd, but he had just accepted that oddness as part of her personality. Hotch knew that he would just have to accept that magic was real as Harry and Ginny's demonstration at his and Spencer's house in Virginia had definitely proved him that magic did exist, not to mention all the odd things he had seen at the Weasleys house just last night, like the dishes cleaning themselves over the sink in the kitchen and the two Potter children on brooms flying through the air with ease, although they had nearly given him a heart attack when he had seen them diving towards the ground at what seemed breakneck speed. Come to think of it though their father hadn't been worried, which probably meant that he was used to it or maybe that he had taught them. Being separated from Lochlan and Landon for 9 months of the year was not something he was looking forward to, and he knew Spencer wasn't either, but what parent looked forward to their children growing up on them and getting out on their own? With the twins gone for most of the year it would give him and Spencer a lot more time to themselves since Jack had his own friends, which was a bonus. Harry and Ginny had assured him and Spencer though that they would be able to keep in contact even though they lived in America and not England. With Portkey travel being so instantaneous he and Spencer could visit often. In fact they could even spend Christmas with Harry, Ginny and their family and in fact it had already been offered. It would be good to not have to spend Christmas with his mother, which he really avoided as much as he could, considering she was always on him about his relationship with Spencer. Really spending Christmas with the Potters was just one of several possibilities, although there was no guarantee that he would have the holiday off and if he didn't, then maybe Harry, Ginny and their children could come spend a few days with him and Spencer instead.  
“Spencer, it's time to rise and shine,” Hotch urged kissing him lovingly on the forehead.  
“Nngghh!” Spencer groaned rolling onto his stomach not even seeming to really wake up.  
“We've got to head to Hogwarts in just an hour and a half or so,” Hotch told him with a chuckle, “so you need to get up and get dressed.”  
“Coffee,” Spencer groaned finally halfway opening his eyes. “I need coffee.”  
Just then there was a popping sound that had Hotch spinning around and Spencer opening his eyes all the way at the startling noise in the near silent room.  
“Your coffee, sir,” squeaked a voice.  
“What are you?” asked Hotch trying not to show how startled he was. Standing in a corner of the room was a short creature with big floppy years and huge, almost tennis ball sized blue eyes and what was also startling was the fact that he was wearing what appeared to be a pillowcase that appeared to be some kind of uniform as it had a stylized P in the center with what appeared to be a lion on one side and unicorn on the other.  
“Oh I'm sorry sir,” the creature squeaked looking upset that he had scared his master's guests. “I am a house-elf, sir. I work for the Potters, sir.”  
“A house-elf?” asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow. House-elves were often written about in fantasy, but to see that they actually existed…  
“Yes, sirs,” the creature answered holding out the coffee mug to Spencer who took it.  
“Oh no offense, but we've just started to learn about magic in the last few days, so could you please explain to us what exactly a house-elf is,” Hotch asked politely as he studied the odd creature.  
“House-elves, sirs, serve the extremely wealthy of the wizarding world,” the house-elf explained. “A house-elf bonds with whatever family he or she is serving. A house-elf's purpose is to serve and our kind thrive on hard work. We are never happier than when we have a lot of work to keep us busy as it is part of the house-elves magic you see. Our magic stays strong so long as we are bonded to a family and if we are set free our magic begins to fade.”  
“So you're kind of like a butler, a cook and a gardener all rolled into one?” asked Spencer looking much more awake now that he had had his first cup coffee.  
“Actually there are 6 house-elves that share the duties of looking after Potter manor,” the creature informed them. “The manor grounds are quite extensive and one house-elf could never handle it all.”  
“So you like working for the Potters?” asked Hotch.  
“Oh yes, sirs,” the creature squeaked enthusiastically. “Master Harry and Mistress Ginny treat us like family they do. They're always kind to us, unlike with a lot of other house-elves that are bound to other families.”  
The house-elf popped out again as soon as he saw that there were no more questions for the moment.  
“Well that was certainly…”  
“Startling?” Hotch suggested even as he looked at the place that the house-elf had disappeared from.  
“Yes,” Spencer admitted certainly fully awake now. “I don't think I will ever quit being astonished by the magical world. I've seen things happen that should be impossible. We've traveled across thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, seen dishes clean themselves, seen the couch we were sitting on at home lift off the floor with both of us on it and without the use of hands.”  
“We saw them reduce our luggage to miniature so that it would be easier to transport, we've traveled by fire without getting more then some soot on our clothes.” Hotch added, “and now we've seen a creature that should not exist.”  
“That too,” Spencer agreed. “You know what really astonishes me though?”  
“What?” asked Hotch.  
“That witches and wizards have managed to hide so well that most people don't know that they exist.”  
“Well, Harry did mention memory charms,” Hotch reminded his lover.  
“True,” Spencer admitted, “but still it is quite amazing that they've managed to keep their world hidden so well.”  
“We can both certainly understand why they keep themselves hidden, don't we?” Hotch said.  
“Yes,” Spencer admitted having thought about the question quite a bit. “If the general population knew that magic was real just as Harry and Ginny said we would want witches and wizards to solve all our problems, well that or they would be hunted down.”  
“And eventually just as they suggested our scientists would find a way to track large usages of magic and then drop a bomb or something on it, so yes I can certainly understand whey they keep themselves hidden,” Hotch said. “We humans aren't very accepting of anybody who is different from us and so Harry and Ginny were right when they said that magic users would be hunted down and killed, well either that or forced to use their magic just to feed their families.”  
The two of them fell silent and Spencer finished his coffee before climbing out of bed and heading to take a shower.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Good morning,” Ginny greeted them as the two of them entered the breakfast room, escorted by a house-elf that had been waiting outside their room saying that Ginny had requested that he wait so he could escort the two of them to breakfast since it was easy to get lost in such a big place as Potter Manor.  
“Come join us for breakfast,” Harry offered and Hotch and Spencer looked at the spread on the table in amazement.  
“Oh don't worry there won't be much left once the kids come down,” Ginny said noticing the looks. “I'm afraid that our children inherited the Weasley appetite.”  
“It's true,” Harry said, “I did go to school with Ron for seven years, and with Fred and George for five and they could all eat us out of house and home with no trouble at all. Of course part of it is that the food at Hogwarts is really good and the other part is that every single Weasley I know seems to have an endless appetite.”  
“And let's not forget that mom's a terrific cook and so of course we want seconds and even thirds in the case of Ron and the rest of my brothers.”  
“I've often wondered where Ron puts all the food that he eats and often thought that he must have a hollow leg or even two in order to store it all.”  
Hotch and Spencer sat down at two places that were next to Harry and Ginny. “Go ahead and serve yourselves,” Ginny told them.  
“Shouldn't we go wake up the children?” asked Spencer as he picked up his plate, Hotch doing the same both getting what they wanted for breakfast.  
“Oh they should be down any minute now,” Harry assured them with a knowing grin.  
As if Harry's words were a signal there was suddenly a great deal of noise as the six children stampeded down the stairs and then entered the breakfast room a few minutes later.  
“Didn't I tell you?” asked Harry rhetorically.  
“Children, show some manners,” Ginny admonished her three. “Sit down and eat we have to be at Hogwarts in just an hour or so, and no James you may not come, you're on restriction. You'll stay here and obey what the house-elves tell you to do and they have been told to report to Harry and I if you do not do as you are told.”  
“Ah, mom,” James whined.  
“Don't ah mom me,” Ginny told her oldest son sternly, “you made your bed, now you have to lie in it.”  
“What's wrong with pulling a prank?” James asked looking petulant.  
“There's nothing wrong with pulling a few harmless pranks, son, it's the kind of prank that you considered a good idea and the fact that you never even thought the consequences of your actions or about how many people could have been hurt. You crossed the line and deep down you know that. My father loved to play pranks, but he was also something of a bully and I will not have you turn into one yourself you hear me?” Harry said sternly. “My father did a lot of damage to certain students that didn't show up until years later and I will not have you following his path.”  
“You're talking about Professor Snape, aren't you, dad?” James asked having the grace to blush in shame.  
“Yes, I am,” Harry told his son. “My father, your namesake, did a lot of psychological damage to him, by pulling really mean pranks and so did my godfather Sirius Black. Because of their actions through their years at Hogwarts Snape took out all his anger and need for revenge on me, from the first day I entered his classroom. It wasn't right what Professor Snape did, nor was it right what my father did to him, but I will not have you continue the cycle, is that understood?”  
“Yes, dad,” said James continuing to hang his head his cheeks red in shame and embarrassment.  
“When you go back to school on September 1st, I don't ever want to hear you pulling a prank that hurt anybody else or of you picking on anyone in particular, if you have to pull pranks keep it general and harmless,” Harry added.  
Everybody at the table particularly Hotch and Spencer felt distinctly sorry for James even though they had no idea what prank had been played that had caused his parents to ground him for the whole summer, but they knew it must have been something very bad for Harry and Ginny didn't strike them as normally being so ridged or rule following. The comments that Harry had made about his father, godfather and a Professor Snape were interesting and informative to say the least and both men really wanted to hear the whole store although they were aware that now was not the time to ask.  
Finally everybody finished breakfast and James was the first to leave the table to head upstairs his shoulders hunched and his head down.  
“So what exactly did James do to require being grounded for the whole summer?” asked Hotch curiously as soon as all the children had finished eating and had disappeared upstairs. “You don't have to tell us if you'd rather not.”  
“It's okay,” Ginny said looking a Harry who nodded. “It's not really a big secret or anything.”  
“There is this Slytherin named Adrain Blackmore and James has hated him since day one and the feeling is mutual. Slytherin and Gryffindors have always been at odds since the time of the founders, although it has gotten much better ever since the war ended. Ever since they were both sorted there has been just this instinctive dislike of each other that has included hexing each other when there are no teachers around to put a stop to it, trading verbal insults, things like that. This year though James went to far and actually put Adrian Blackmore in the hospital wing with more than just a case of boils or something similar.”  
Ginny went on to describe the pranked that had been played and by the time she was done Hotch and Spencer had to agree that James had gone to far.  
“If the boy had died, then there would have been nothing we could've done for James and the only thing that would have saved him from a sentence in Azkaban would have been his age, but he would've had his wand snapped and his magic bound, which would have made him just like a muggle and to someone who was born being able to do magic, well that would almost be a death sentence.”  
“Now I understand why you grounded him for the whole summer,” Hotch said. “You don't want that to happen to your son or for anybody to die.”  
“James is a good lad really he just doesn't think sometimes,” Harry said with a sigh, shaking his head. “If he started thinking about the consequences of his actions what happened to that Slytherin boy never would have occurred. I'm afraid James is starting to take after my father.” Harry shook his head. “I know a lot about my father from the last of his surviving friends Remus Lupin. Remus refuses to sugarcoat my father just because he's dead and has told me all about the times that James Sr. bullied Severus Snape who was in Slytherin, while my father, godfather and Remus were Gryffindors. Really Remus was the only sensible one and tried to curtail my father and godfather from going to far, but he was only sometimes successful. Part of the problem at that time was that the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore was way too lenient and didn't punish James or the other students like they should've been beyond a few detentions, which didn't really make an impression on him or my rascal of a godfather Sirius Black. I'm not saying that Severus Snape didn't give as good as he got, but some of the pranks that my father played damaged Snape up here.” Harry said tapping his head, “and when I started going to school he transferred his hatred of my father onto me and before I had had a single lesson he bullied picked, berated me and generally made my life miserable. I suppose it didn't help that I look so much like my father, except for my mother's green eyes. He was the potions teacher you see until he was killed near the end of the war. Sometimes I wonder if we cursed James by naming him after my father. Perhaps if we had named him something else his personality would have turned out differently and not given him an exaggerated sense of his own importance. I'm not saying that my father wasn't a good man, just that he was arrogant, although I know he outgrew it, because my mother would never have married him otherwise, as she was much more mature and sensible then he was. From what I know of him he came from a rich pureblooded family and was my grandparents only child, which meant that he was spoiled rotten.”  
“Which is what made him arrogant,” Hotch suggested having seen this pattern before.  
Harry nodded, “It didn't help that he was extremely intelligent and did well in his studies without having to study much in order to get good grades. He was also naturally talented on the Quidditch field and the only thing that didn't come easily to him was my mother Lily as for years she thought he was an arrogant berk and wouldn't have anything to do with him at all. It was only after he had matured and stopped all the pranks on the Slytherins and Snape in particular that she agreed to go out on a date with him. He was sixteen and that was when my parents officially started dating.”  
“Harry, you know naming out oldest son James is not what caused him to turn out like he did,” Ginny told her husband. “James would have still been a prankster even if we had named him something else as it just runs in both your family and mine. Just look at Fred and George, who are and always will be pranksters and from what I know from mom her twin brothers were the same as children.”  
“Why did your headmaster not do more than give your father detention, especially when it was obvious that the detentions weren't working?” asked Spencer watching the conversation.  
“Well, Dumbledore believed in second chances,” Ginny explained. “There's nothing wrong with this generally, with giving people a chance to change but he could have curtailed Snape's treatment of Harry of anybody who wasn't a Slytherin really, and yet he did nothing. He could have expelled James and Sirius or at least suspended them for a while so that they would learn that their were serious consequences for their actions if they went to far, especially since getting detention seemed to be something they were proud of and got as often as possible, which would have ended a viscous cycle before it even began. Dumbledore let people like Draco Malfoy get away with being bullies when he could have done something in order to get him to stop. He also kept giving the Death Eaters second chances and even third and fourth chances to change. Generally Dumbledore didn't believe in killing even when it was obvious that that was the only way that the wizarding war was going to be won. Whole family lines were wiped out, because of this view.”  
“People who kill and torture willingly really don't deserve to be left alive just so they can do it again and again,” Harry added. “Putting them in Azkaban was one solution, but the only problem with it was that Voldemort would break them out again just so they could go back to torturing and killing. Really killing goes against my nature even if I had to do it during the war in order just to survive and protect those I care about, but having to do such despicable things was the main reason I decided against becoming an Auror like I had originally planned, so instead I became a teacher at Hogwarts school. Also I was bullied by my cousin growing up, which is the reason I absolutely despise bullies in general.”  
“You couldn't fight back?” asked Spencer.  
“Well, I was kind of scrawny back then, because the Dursleys only fed me the bare minimum and Dudley was huge, although I admit it was mostly fat until he took up boxing. Besides if I had fought back I would've just been punished worse by my aunt and uncle when Dudley tattled on me. His parents always gave him absolutely everything he wanted and he was spoiled rotten. They never believed that their little Duddykins could do wrong. I usually managed to escape them just by running away since I was way faster than Dudley and his friends, who were also bullies. I even managed to Apparate to the roof of the school once in order to escape them, even though at the time I had no idea how I had done it as it was before I knew that magic was real.”  
“Most magical children don't ever do accidental magic of such magnitude,” said Ginny, “but then most children are not bullied as badly Harry was either. Accidental magic is usually minor things, things like that cookie jar coming off that shelf in the kitchen when your sons were two or making your bath toys move on their own, things like that.”  
“It sounds like you went through a lot,” Hotch said looking thoughtfully at the younger man before him. Harry was only two years older then his lover, which was good in a way as that meant that he and Spencer didn't have gapping age difference between them, even if the two of them came from two totally different worlds they still would probably have a lot in common.  
“Well, at least you don't think Harry is evil when he told you that he had killed people,” Ginny said dryly. “A lot of the wizarding world seems to be under the mistaken impression that if you kill someone then you are automatically evil unless you are an Auror off course as that goes along with their duties sometimes. If you kill and torture on your own free will and because you enjoy it then yes, you are evil, but if you do it in order to protect yourself and those you care about and feel remorse for your actions then no you are not evil.”  
“I of all people understand about having to kill someone whether you want to or not,” Hotch told the two Potters. “My job sometimes requires me to do just that so I do understand.”  
“Good,” Ginny said pleased, “I thought you might understand about having to kill in self-defense since you do have a similar job that requires you to do that sometimes. I'm afraid that a lot of people in the wizarding world sometimes severely lack common sense or logic or both. Now though I had better go round up the children as it's almost time to head to Hogwarts for our meeting with Professor McGonagall.”  
Ginny rose from her seat and went to make sure that the children were ready to go.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Welcome, welcome,” McGonagall greeted everyone as soon as they had all stepped out of the Floo. “Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry I am Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.”  
“It's nice to meet you headmistress,” Spencer said stepping forward to shake her hand. “These are my sons Lochlan and Landon and this is my partner Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack.”  
McGonagall looked startled for a moment as she was very old-school when it came to relationships, although it wasn't her place to approve or disapprove, but then McGonagall had been born in a totally different era, where relationships were private. In her day no man would have been so bold as to announce another man as their sexual partner.  
“It's nice to meet you,” McGonagall said recovering herself quickly. “I'll call Hagrid and let him take the rest of the children on a tour of the school while we discuss business.”  
“Don't worry, Hagrid is a sweetheart,” Harry assured Hotch and Spencer. “He was the first one that told me I was a wizard and we've been friends ever since.”  
While Harry had been talking McGonagall had to conjured a Patronus and sent it to get Hagrid.  
“He'll meet you at the bottom of the steps,” McGonagall told Jack, Art and Lily. “You can wait for him there and he should be arriving in just a minute.”  
“Come on, Jack, James has told Lily and me all about Hogwarts and it's really ultracool,” Art said rising from his chair and heading for the office door.  
Once they were gone McGonagall turned back to Spencer, Hotch, the Potters and the twins. “Now down to business. I'm sure you know by now that normally we don't get students from America, but since you and your sons are related to the Potter line an exception has been made.”  
“So we have been informed, by Harry and Ginny,” Spencer said calmly.  
“I'm also sure that it was quite… a revelation… when you learned that you are from a long line of squibs and that your sons are the first to have magic in centuries.”  
“You could say that,” Hotch said dryly. “I've seen a lot of strange things in my job, but nothing that comes close to what Spencer and I have learned in the last week or two.”  
“I just bet not,” McGonagall said with a small smile. “Alright then my question becomes do you want to attend Hogwarts school or would you rather go to one closer to home in America?” This question was directed at the twins who had been silent up until now looking around the headmistresses office with fascination.  
“The only school in America is Salem Academy,” Spencer said, “at least from what the Potters have told us.”  
“That is correct,” McGonagall admitted. “So far that has been enough since so many young magical children are homeschooled. So do you Lochlan and you Landon want to come to Hogwarts school or go to Salem Academy in America?” McGonagall asked the twins again.  
“Well,” Lochlan began, “my brother and I have been talking about it and both of us think that we want to come to Hogwarts. We've already made friends with Art and he'll also be starting this September.”  
“Besides,” Landon said, “we'll have family close to spend Christmas with if we don't want to go all the way back to Virginia.”  
“The whole family has already been invited to spend Christmas with us,” Ginny interjected. “Harry and I have already become quite fond of all of them in a very short amount of time. Besides you know how Harry feels about family and finding out that he had some from his side has made him extremely happy.”  
Harry blushed at this, although it was true.  
“To get to see Lochlan and Landon every day, to get to know them, since I do teach here...is something I never expected to get the opportunity to do and that is to get to know relatives from my father's side of the family.”  
McGonagall expression softened and it was clear to Hotch and Spencer that she had a bit of a soft spot for Harry Potter. “Very well then, they will be admitted to Hogwarts this coming term in September. Arrangements will have to be made by you to get them here.”  
“Already taken care of headmistress,” Harry assured her. “Kingsley has given me authorization to create a permanent Portkey from Potter Manor to their house in Virginia. They'll simply come to our house a few days before the beginning of term and then go with our children, Ginny and I to King's Cross station when we see James and Art onto the Hogwarts Express.”  
McGonagall smiled and said, “Well apparently you have thought of everything, Harry, so I guess I'll see you Lochlan and you Landon at Hogwarts this coming September. I'll expect you two to take care of all the arrangements,” she added looking at Harry and Ginny.  
“Yeah!” The twins cheered excitedly making McGonagall smile again at their enthusiasm.  
“Don't worry headmistress, we're going to Diagon Alley either today or tomorrow depending on how long the tour of Hogwarts takes.”  
“Ah I have a question,” Spencer said.  
“What's your question Mr. Reid?” asked McGonagall with a raised eyebrow.  
“Actually that's Dr. Reid,” Spencer said, “but you can call me Spencer.”  
“Then what is your question Dr. Reid,” McGonagall said.  
“Well I know I have the Potter blood, but Aaron and Jack don't so how can we see Hogwarts at all since it is apparently covered in many charms and spells so that people without magic don't know that it exists.”  
McGonagall raised an eyebrow again thinking that Dr. Reid's question was a very good one and considering that her guests had only known about the wizarding world for a week or two it was very well thought out. “To answer your question, Dr. Reid you are inside the charms and wards that protect the castle from muggle eyes. Also you know about this old pile of stones and believe that it is real, and in magic 'belief' is a large part in being able to perform it and for a muggle to see something like Hogwarts or any other place protected by magic.”  
Spencer nodded for that made sense.  
“Harry, Ginny, you know your way around so I will allow you to give them the tour. I have a lot of preparations to make before the beginning of term, just make sure you come and tell me before you leave.”  
“Very well, headmistress,” Ginny said.  
“Oh Harry, Ginny can I have a word with you right quick before you commence that tour?”  
“We'll wait for you at the bottom of the staircase,” Hotch said taking the hint and Spencer nodded.  
“What is it you wanted to talk to us about, Minerva?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“I just wanted to ask about James. You realize of course, that I cannot have another incident like the one last term.”  
“We know, Minerva,” Harry said, “don't worry he's been on restriction for the whole summer, which is the reason he is not with us today. He hasn't been allowed to do anything except his homework and chores. I told him that I would not have him turn into my father for as much as I love my father's memory I will not have my son turn into a bully not thinking about the consequences of his actions. I informed him that if Adrian Blackmore had died that the only thing preventing him from going to Azkaban would have been his age, but that he would have had his wand snapped and his magic bound.”  
“We both believe that he has seen what kind of hurt he could cause,” Ginny added.  
McGonagall gave them a sad smile and said, “I hope you're right because you were correct that if the boy had actually died…”  
“We know,” Harry said, “and that's the reason we were so harsh with him.”  
“We would rather James hate us for a little while then to have his wand snapped and his magic bound or worse yet if he did something when he was old enough to go to Azkaban,” Ginny said shaking her head.  
Ginny glanced up at the portrait of Dumbledore, which was empty and so she added, “Dumbledore was too lenient with the students and there should have been harsher punishments, especially if a certain line was crossed. Students should've been suspended or expelled if the situation warranted it or at least they should have gotten one warning and then if the same student did it again that should have occurred. The reason that so many students practically got away with murder was because they weren't given proper discipline and I don't just mean detention. They were never shown that there were serious consequences for their actions and I believe that's why so many students did what they did, like hexing others behind their backs and why some even joined Voldemort's side.”  
“You are correct,” McGonagall agreed with a smile. “Foresight is a wonderful thing, isn't it?”  
“It is,” Ginny agreed.  
“I am looking forward to seeing, Art, Lochlan and Landon in September, just make sure that they don't take James's path.”  
“Don't worry, Art is nothing like his brother in that respect and as for the twins they are very much like their father, so I don't think you will have any serious problems with them.”  
“Good,” McGonagall said pleased.  
“Oh by the way you're not going to be rid of the Potters anytime soon,” Ginny added mischievously.  
“What do you mean?” asked McGonagall with a raised eyebrow.  
Ginny rubbed her stomach and said. “I just found out a month or so ago that I'm pregnant again. With twins.”  
“Congratulations,” McGonagall told them her smile widening while at the same time the portraits on the wall also shouted their congratulations.  
“Thank you,” both Ginny and Harry said blushing.  
“We weren't planning on anymore, but I did forget to take my contraceptive potion one time and that must've been when it happened,” Ginny said.  
“Let's just hope that your twins don't take after their infamous uncles,” McGonagall said her lips twitching as she thought about Fred and George Weasley who had been and still were pranksters to the core, but unlike James they had never hurt anyone.  
“We better get going we don't want to leave Spencer, Aaron and the twins waiting too long as that would be very rude. We'll see you sometime soon Minerva,” Ginny said.  
“Yes, I'll see you sometime soon. You two take care of yourselves and your family,” Minerva told them, disregarding her stern personality for a minute to give each of them a hug and congratulating them again before letting them leave her office.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“There are passwords to enter each house and they change on a weekly basis,” Ginny explained as the group of them walked towards Gryffindor tower. “Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are located in towers while Hufflepuff is located near the kitchens and Slytherin is in the dungeons.”  
“This sure is a humongous place,” Landon said looking around him in awe.  
“I agree with you,” Harry told the 11-year-old boy with a grin. “I sure did have trouble finding my way around for the first couple of weeks at least. Really you Lochlan are already ahead of the game since we're showing you where all your classes will take place so you probably won't have as much trouble finding your way around when you get here on September 1st.”  
“So boys and girls have separate dormitories?” asked Hotch.  
“Of course,” Harry agreed, “and there's a lot of wicked spells on the girl stairs to stop the boys from getting up there. It's been that way for over thousand years as the founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys and so they can enter the boys dormitories. They are usually 4 to 5 to a dormitory and the students are sorted by year, first, second, third and so forth. Each dormitory also has its own bathroom.  
“Welcome, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley,” said the portrait of a lady as the group reached the porthole that led into Gryffindor tower. Hotch and Spencer and the the twins and Jack didn't even blink when the portraits spoke for they had seen a lot of of talking portraits on their tour of the castle.  
“Could you let us in please,” Ginny asked politely, “we're giving these people a tour as their sons will be starting here in September.”  
“Of course,” the Fat Lady agreed the portrait swinging aside. “I will look forward to seeing if you are sorted into my house,” she told the twins, Art, Lily and Jack.  
“It is just the twins, and Art that will be here come September,” Ginny told the Fat Lady.  
They all climbed through the portrait hole and the Reid/Hotchner household started to look around them.  
“This place sure does bring back memories doesn't it, love?” asked Harry as he looked around at the empty common room. “I used to sit in that chair over there,” he said pointing at an overstuffed, shabby armchair in the corner, “and you would sit on my lap once we started dating.”  
“Yes, we had some good times, didn't we?” Ginny said looking around her expression wistful.  
“For me it was really the first home I had ever known, the Dursleys don't count,” Harry said. “This was my dorm,” he added pointing at one of the sets of stairs. “We can go up and look around if you want, although it's nothing more than what you would expect from a dorm room, just the basics, bed, nightstands between each, bathroom.”  
“Since we're here we might as well look,” Spencer said and so they all trooped up the stairs to Harry's old dorm.  
“I don't think most dorm rooms have four-poster beds,” Hotch commented as he looked around noting that Harry had been right for other then the beds it was just your basic dorm room.  
“I hope when I'm sorted I get into a different house,” Art said and his voice startling the others for he had been mostly silent up until now. “I don't think I could share a house with James for the next five years. I love my brother, but he's always teasing and pranking Lily and I and I don't think I could put up with that at school because at home it's bad enough.”  
“I think James has changed for the better,” Harry told his son, although he could certainly understand Art's point of view.  
“Maybe,” Art said with a shrug, “but I still think I'd prefer another house. I know that no Potter or Weasley for that matter has ever been sorted anywhere, but Gryffindor, but if I was sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw I think I would enjoy school much more since I wouldn't have to always look over my shoulder for James's next prank.”  
“You can suggest a different house to the Sorting Hat you know,” Harry told his son placing his hands gently on Art's shoulders, “It happened to me when I was first sorted. I never told you this, but the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, said it would 'lead me on the road to greatness', but I had met Draco Malfoy by that point. He reminded me strongly of my bully of a cousin Dudley and I didn't want to be is the same house as him.”  
“Thanks dad,” Art said looking happier.  
“I agree with my brother,” Lily said, “I would be happier if I was sorted into some other house then Gryffindor when I come to Hogwarts in two years.”  
“What's with the moving staircases?” asked Spencer and Hotch who had been wondering the same thing listened with interest.  
“It's just something that Rowena Ravenclaw did to put her own unique stamp on the school,” Ginny said. “She is also responsible for the trick steps. Rowena Ravenclaw was a genius, kind of like our friend Hermione, come to think of it. Each founder is responsible for parts of the school, for Hufflepuff it was the kitchen, as she was the nurturer of the group. The way that the food just appears on the tables in the Great Hall at mealtimes, is due to her, although it is prepared by the house-elves. We're heading there next and then after that we'll show you where all the students eat their meals and then we'll be done and we can either head back to our place or to Diagon Alley.”  
“Were those really ghosts that we saw?” asked Jack.  
They had stopped and talked to several ghosts during their tour of the castle.  
“Yes, that was,” Ginny said smiling at the boy. “The one who had his head mostly severed was Nearly Headless Nick and now you know why we call him that. He is the Gryffindor ghost.”  
“How can you have your head partly severed,” asked Landon curiously and all the adults grimaced for they knew how it could be done and none of the ways was pretty.  
“Well, the story goes that Nick who lived several centuries ago fell in love with Margaret Ashton, but she was already engaged to marry this baron against her will as her family wanted stronger ties to the nobility. Arranged marriages were very popular back then, as they were used to form alliances between houses and to also strengthen ties. Well, anyway Margaret had already given away her heart to Nick and they were caught together. Lord Ashton immediately called for Nick's execution and then deliberately blunted the axe so that his head was not completely separated from his neck. Nick in the afterlife chose to come back because he wanted to be near the woman he loved even though he was dead, but when she discovered that her lover was dead she killed herself. Unfortunately though Nick was stuck here in this existence, because once the choice had been made there is no changing your mind. All the ghost here have similar stories.”  
“That is so sad,” Spencer said and Hotch who looked like he actually had tears in his eyes nodded in agreement. He, Aaron Hotchner hadn't used to be the emotional type at all, but ever since he had gotten together with Spencer he had let himself feel more and more emotions and now smiled more then he had used to, especially in his lover's presence. He was also much happier then he had been, but because he was things like the story that Harry had just been told affected him more then they would have seven or eight years ago.  
“Yes, I agree it is sad,” Ginny agreed escorting them out of the tower and towards the kitchens. “In fact it is believed that Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet on their story.”  
“Wow! That's really neat!” Lochlan said who like his father loved Shakespeare.  
“Really?” asked Spencer. “Romeo and Juliet were based off what happened to Nearly Headless Nick and his lady love?”  
“That's what's believed although it has never been a hundred percent confirmed,” Ginny said as she led the group down to the common room and out of Gryffindor tower entirely so they could head for the kitchens.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The nine of them strolled down Diagon Alley the next day including James. The only reason that James had been brought along was so that he could get new robes since he had a growth spurt over the summer, and his old ones were now to short.  
The Hogwarts letters had only come that very morning and it was a very fortuitous event considering that they had been going to go anyway just to give their guests more of a taste of the magical world, but now they could actually shop for school supplies. Headmistress McGonagall must've really been on the ball to get the letters out the very next day after they had just seen her.  
Four letters had arrived by owl during breakfast, three of them of course carrying Art's and the twins acceptance letters with the usual list of supplies and warning that broomsticks were not allowed for first years.  
“So where do you want to go to first?” asked Ginny. The nine of them had already stopped by Gringotts and while Harry had gone down to his vault to get money for supplies, Spencer and Hotch had exchanged American dollars for Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Harry had offered to buy the twins supplies, saying that he had more money then he knew what to do with, but both Spencer and Hotch had refused saying that the twins were their responsibility and that they had plenty of money of their own.  
“We don't have to do anything in any particular order, although it's probably smart to do the books last since they're rather heavy.”  
“And also because if you get Spencer into a bookstore he won't want to leave,” Hotch teased his mate who blushed knowing it was very true. “We had enough trouble dragging you out of the Hogwarts and Potter libraries.  
“Whenever you want to go first is fine,” Spencer finally said, “we're not in any hurry after all.”  
“Alright then I think Madam Malkin's robes should be first so we can get that out of the way,” Ginny decided. “After that we should go get three trunks for the books and other supplies something besides the standard one compartment ones that most students have.”  
“Ollivander's after that,” Harry suggested and Ginny nodded in agreement.  
“How about Weasleys Wizard Wheezes,” Art suggested looking pleased when James flinched knowing that he wouldn't be allowed inside until after his restriction was lifted and that would be Christmas.  
“Well you can certainly go if you want, well anybody except for James that is,” Ginny said looking at her oldest son who looked downcast and completely miserable.  
“What's Weasleys Wizard Wheezes?” asked Hotch.  
“It's my twin brothers shop,” Ginny explained, “the one with all the magical pranks. Really it's fantastic all the things that they've invented. You should at least go in and see it even if you don't buy anything.”  
“Can we go, dad, Uncle Aaron?” the twins begged along with Jack except he called Aaron, dad and Spencer uncle was the only difference.  
Hotch and Spencer exchanged locks and then Aaron said, “Just so you understand that you're not to pull any pranks on us. If you want to pull a few harmless ones at school that's fine.”  
“And remember we'll get any letters about your misbehavior if you go to far,” Spencer reminded them.  
“We just want to look,” the twins protested.  
“Alright then,” Spencer said looking resigned, “I suppose there's no harm in looking around.”  
“Yah!” the twins and Jack cheered.  
The nine of them headed towards Madam Malkin's to get their robes first.  
“Maybe after we get our shopping done we can go to Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop,” Harry suggested.  
“Can we, dad?” Jack asked enthusiastically for he loved ice cream.  
“I don't see why not,” Hotch agreed with a smile at his son's enthusiasm.  
“Yah!” all the children, except for James cheered, as he knew that since he was on restriction he wouldn't be getting any ice cream, making the four adult's look at each other and smile.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A couple of hours later they headed to Ollivander's wand shop.  
“Ollivander's Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC,” Spencer read the writing on the window. “Since 382 BC?” asked Spencer not sure if he believed it.  
“Oh yes,” Harry said with a smile, “wizarding history is rather well-documented.”  
“I think only the children that need wands and one adult should go inside,” Ginny commented. “Ollivander's shop is rather narrow and small and there isn't much room for many people at once.”  
“I'll take them,” Harry volunteered immediately, “why don't you go ahead to Flourish and Blotts and we'll meet you there. This shouldn't take to long.”  
“Alright,” Spencer and Hotch agreed after looking at each other, “We'll meet you at the bookshop.”  
“It'll probably be at least an hour,” Harry warned them. “Choosing a wand takes time, some more then others. Ollivander told me when I first came in for my wand that it's not the wizard or witch that chooses their wand, but the wand that chooses them.”  
“A lot of families pass down their ancestors wands, but a wand that hasn't chosen a person is much harder to get results from. Oh another person's wand sometimes makes a good secondary wand, but is rarely a good match for a person,” Ginny said. “My grandmother's wand was passed down to me and I was lucky that it was a fairly good match, but Neville is another story as he was using his father's wand and he had a lot of trouble getting the results that he wanted but he carried it because his grandmother wanted her grandson to honor his father's memory by using his wand.”  
Spencer handed over a bag of Galleon, Sickles and Knuts to Harry and then half the group split off and headed towards the bookshop while the twins and Art stayed with Harry  
“Well, come along boys,” Harry said as he ushered the three children into all Ollivander's wand shop.  
The boys followed him willingly for all three had been looking forward to getting wands. “Ah, Mr. Potter, I wondered when I would be seeing you and your youngest son,” Ollivander greeted Harry, “and who these two?” Ollivander asked as he studied at Lochlan and Landon.  
“These are some distant cousins of mine from America, Lochlan and Landon Reid,” Harry informed him. “They will be going to Hogwarts as well, along with Art.”  
“Hmmm,” Ollivander said. “Which one of you would like to go first?”  
“You can go first if you want,” Art offered to the twins.  
Harry was so proud of his son for being so polite and being willing to wait to get his wand if the twins wanted to go first and he was well aware of how hard it was to wait to get something you had been looking forward to especially as a child.  
Lochlan nodded eagerly and both twins thanked him.  
Ollivander immediately began to pull wand boxes off the shelves and passed Lochlan one wand after another while telling him, how long it was, what wood it was made out of and what the wand core was. It took more then two dozen wands before Lochlan took one that Ollivander passed him and immediately felt a warmth spread through his fingers just before sparks shot out the end.  
“Ah, yes an interesting choice,” Ollivander murmured. “Oak, with a unicorn hair for a core, 13 1/2 inches, excellent for charm work.”  
Landon went through the same process and it was quite a few wands later that he felt the same warmth spread through his fingers.  
“Yours is mahogany, also with a unicorn tail hair from the same unicorn as your brother's, 16 inches, excellent for transfiguration.”  
The twins stepped back beside Harry, so that Art could now get his new wand, although they kept fingering their new wands and Harry could hardly blame them as they had only known about magic for a couple of weeks. He certainly remembered his own reaction when he learned that magic was real and when he had gotten his wand, the one he still used to this day.  
Art wasn't nearly so hard to fit and it was only six or seven wands later that he found his match.  
“How much for the twins wands?” Harry asked Ollivander.  
“That will be 40 Galleons,” Ollivander replied.  
“And my son's?” asked Harry.  
“20 Galleons,” Ollivander said.  
Harry passed over the money 40 Galleons from the bag that Spencer had given him and 20 Galleons from his own. “I will also take three arm holsters, please,” Harry requested.  
Harry showed the three boys how to attach the holsters to their arms and then told them gently, “You should never carry your wand in your back pocket as it might accidentally go off. A great Auror I knew by the name of Alastor Moody once told me that it was dangerous to keep it in your pocket because it could cause an accident where you or someone close to you could be hurt if it did happen to fire. I didn't know this until Moody told me as I had always carried my wand in a pocket, but I was just lucky that it never went off accidentally.”  
“Wow this is really cool Uncle Harry,” Lochlan said as he put his new wand in his holster.  
“Yeah, it's really neat,” Landon echoed.  
“Yeah, dad, thanks,” Art said.  
“You're welcome, but we better head towards Flourish and Blotts, so we can meet your parents and mother,” Harry said ushering them out of the shop.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The rest of the summer passed incredibly quickly with Hotch, Spencer and the three boys learning more about the wizarding world all the time.  
Either Hotch or Spencer called in every day to let Garcia know that they were fine and one of them also called Sara to let her know that they'd be home soon and that they were doing great.  
Finally the day came when Hotch knew he really needed to get back to work as he had been gone almost a month which was more time than he had ever taken off at one time before.  
“We understand that you need to get back to you own lives,” Harry said sounding disappointed.  
“Don't worry we'll visit each other often,” Spencer assured Harry.  
“That Portkey you gave the boys should allow them to get back home without any problems and to come here too of course.”  
“The only problem is that underaged children aren't supposed to do magic outside of school at least in Britain,” Harry said. “I found out that the rules are little bit more relaxed in America.  
“So they're not allowed to use their wands then how will they activate the Portkey?” asked Hotch curiously.  
“Well when the twins use their wands in America you shouldn't get in trouble for as I said the laws are a little more relaxed, so long as nobody who isn't supposed to see is there. They should only use their wands to activate the Portkey until they are of age, because so long as they don't do a great deal of magic the ministry over there probably won't even notice. As for over here technically only muggle-borns are watched, and yes the twins are considered muggle-borns, but they will also be living in a wizarding household doing at least part of the summer and there is no way to track a specific wand when a whole lot of magic is being used.”  
“So if I'm understanding you right so long as they don't use their wands in muggle areas the ministry shouldn't be able to detect it and they won't get in trouble,” Spencer said.  
“That's right,” Harry agreed. “Of course I don't plan on letting them do any magic at all except the activation of the Portkey, because there is a law about underage magic for a reason. It's there to prevent accidents as young witches and wizards have been known to kill themselves because they don't know what they're doing, there's at least one death every year, mostly purebloods or half-bloods whose parents don't watch them closely enough.”  
“I think to be on the safe side,” Hotch said immediately, “that we'll take their wands and lock them in the safe in my office until it's time for them to come back to school. I know the twins and they are very curious about how things work and they would try some experiment and they might just kill themselves or blow something up.”  
“A wise precaution,” Harry said. “Anyway before you leave I have a gift for you.” Harry handed them a package and the two men opened it looking at the strange blue box.  
“What is it?” asked Spencer.  
“It's for your letters,” Harry explained. “What you do is open the lid and place your letters inside and they automatically disappear. I have a similar box in my office and they will appear in there and then they'll be sent by owl to Hogwarts. This way you and your sons can exchange correspondence and so can we.”  
“This is a precious gift,” Hotch said in a tone of awe as he handled the box as if it was made of precious metals and gems. “Both Spencer and I were worried about being able to keep in contact with Lochlan and Landon. It's bad enough they'll be gone most of the year to school, but we were afraid we wouldn't be able to hear from them, but this generous gift of yours solves that problem.”  
“I'll make sure they both write you at least once a week,” Harry promised, “since I am a teacher at the school I can remind them to write. I'm sure they'll let you know what house they get sorted into and how their first few classes went. Just make sure you don't show the letters to anyone, except Sara and Penelope, of course.”  
“I think letting the twins stay here for the last couple of weeks of summer is a good idea,” Spencer said looking at Hotch who nodded. “They can get to know James, Art and Lily better since they are family.”  
“They are of course welcome,” Harry assured the two men. “They're welcome to stay here for the Christmas holidays and next summer too and so are you.”  
“We'll discuss staying for Christmas at a later date, but probably not, because I've already taken a lot of leave time even if it was unpaid,” Hotch said who understood very well how the government worked.  
“Then maybe we can come spend a week or so with you,” Harry said.  
“That's a possibility,” Spencer said with a smile.  
The two men said goodbye to the whole Potter family, but they all knew that they would keep in contact and remain friends throughout the rest of their lives.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The Potter family and the two Reid children arrived at King's Cross station with only 10 minutes to spare on the morning of September 1st. They had gotten a very late start this morning.  
“You can go through the barrier first if you want,” Ginny told Lochlan and Landon kindly. “Just remember run straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten with your trolleys. You can even close your eyes if you want.”  
The twins nodded and did as Ginny instructed and started running towards the barrier until they felt themselves pass through in which they immediately open their eyes and looked around and fascination. On the train tracks was a scarlet red steam engine with Hogwarts Express emblazoned boldly on the side in big letters. Other than the train though it was just an ordinary train platform with several adults and children milling around.  
“Go on, get on board, you only have about five minutes before the train leaves and it always departs on time,” Ginny told the twins and Art with a smile.  
“James, a word with you right quick,” Harry added before his oldest son disappeared onto the scarlet steam engine.  
James hung back not looking happy about it while the other three children headed for the train dragging trunks, which had been lightened with a charm behind them.  
“Now son I think you know why I have held you back,” Harry said.  
“Yes, dad,” James said hanging his head still ashamed of his actions.  
“Have you learned your lesson about going to far so that others get hurt?”  
“Yes, dad,” James said as he looked up into his father's brilliant green eyes.  
Harry studied his son, seeming to find what he was looking for in his sons hazel eyes then nodded. “Good, just remember that there's nothing wrong with playing a few harmless pranks, but there is such a thing as going overboard and if you go to far then your mother and I won't be able to get you out of the trouble it will get you into as we're not like the Malfoys that used to bribe people to get their son Draco out of trouble. Now go ahead and get on board as a train is going to leave any minute and just remember to write.”  
“Why, since you're a teacher at the school?” James questioned his usual mischievous expression returning.  
Harry just laughed and pushed his son towards the bright scarlet steam engine. “Go on you scamp before you miss the train entirely.”  
James grinned and nodded and then was gone dragging his trunk towards the train. Just after he got onboard and had disappeared from the doorway the whistle blew signaling that it was time to get on the train before you missed it.  
Harry and Ginny stood there side-by-side and watched as the Hogwarts Express started to make yet another journey towards a school that was over thousand years old.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Arthur Potter,” Flitwick finally called causing the hall to start buzzing in excitement. Another Potter? The students buzzed in excitement. What house would he end in? Would he end up in Gryffindor like his older brother or somewhere else? What house would get the younger son of the famous Harry Potter?  
Art sat down on the stool and Flitwick plopped the Sorting Hat onto his head. “Hmm, what house would fit you best?” the Sorting Hat said into Art's mind. “You're loyal enough for Hufflepuff, sly and cunning enough for Slytherin, brave enough for Gryffindor and smart enough for Ravenclaw. Hmm, you are really hard to sort since you have the traits that all the founders prized. Why don't you choose since I can't decide what house would fit you best?”  
“Well I definitely would prefer not to go into Gryffindor with my brother, and I don't think my cunning or slyness are my dominant traits so I choose Ravenclaw, if you please.”  
“Very well then,” the Hat agreed, “Ravenclaw!”  
The cheering at the Ravenclaw table increased until it was so loud that it was almost impossible to hear anything else. “We got a Potter!” The students of Ravenclaw cheered as Art made his way to the correct table.  
Landon finally heard his name called as he stood with the other students ready to be sorted and he immediately stepped forward and sat on the three legged stool that had been placed in the middle of the floor of the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat, was immediately plopped on his head by tiny Professor Flitwick.  
“Hmmm,” the Hat said. “You have a good mind, and are definitely smart enough for Ravenclaw, but you also have bravery in spades and would fit into Gryffindor as well and so which shall it be?”  
“Please put me in Ravenclaw with my cousin Art,” Landon silently requested politely of the Hat. “If you say I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw then just put me there.”  
“Yes, I see,” the Hat said finally, “you have just discovered that you are related to Harry Potter this summer and have just started becoming friends with his youngest son Arthur, so yes, I think it's Ravenclaw for you as you will do well in that house.”  
“Ravenclaw!” the Hat shouted out loud and Ravenclaw table cheered as Lochlan approached the appropriate table.  
“Lochlan Reid,” called Professor Flitwick looking at his scroll that had all the students names on it.  
Lochlan stepped forward and sat on the stool and although it took a few minutes soon he was also headed for the Ravenclaw table to sit with his brother and cousin.  
Finally Rose, Ron and Hermione's oldest daughter was called and she too joined her cousins at the Ravenclaw table.  
“Well it looks like we are all in the same house,” said Rose looking around her pleased with herself. She and Art had already been friends, since they were cousins after all, and she had just started to get to know Lochlan and Landon, and so far liked them both as they were just as intelligent as her and Art, but didn't allow it to go to their heads like some people did.  
“Good, I'm just glad I'm not in the same house as James,” said Art. “Don't misunderstand me, I love my brother, but if we were in the same house he would make my life miserable, by pulling constant pranks on me and whoever I was with. I'd like to be able to enjoy my time at Hogwarts and not always have to look over my shoulder for the next prank.”  
“I definitely agree with that,” Rose said who had been subjected to more then one of James pranks over the years, even if she hadn't taken the brunt of them, because she didn't live with him.  
“I have a couple of start of term announcements before the feast begins,” McGonagall announced standing up as soon as the last first year was sorted.  
“One the Forbidden Forest is absolutely forbidden to all students. Two Mr. Pringle requests that there is no magic done in the corridors between classes. There is also a list of banned pranks in Mr. Pringle's office for those who care to view it. Now let the feast begin!” Suddenly with McGonagall's last words all the tables in the Great Hall were suddenly groaning with food and the students immediately begin to fill their plates for they were starving.  
“So what's with the accent, mate?” asked one boy who looked to be at least the fourth or fifth year of the twins.  
“I'm Lochlan and this is my brother Landon, we're from America.”  
“America? Really? Then why aren't you going to a school closer to home?” asked a first year girl sitting on the other side of the table looking interested.  
The twins had already been warned that if they mentioned that they were related to Harry Potter that they would be instant celebrities and that if they wanted to keep a low profile it wasn't a good idea. Harry and Ginny had explained to the whole Reid/Hotchner household that Harry was quite famous in the wizarding world and why this was.  
“Well, about 300 years ago a relative of ours was British, but he moved to America determined to have his own life away England were he was treated like spun glass. His name was Edwin and he was a squib, even though he came from a long line of purebloods. My twin and I are the first ones to inherit the magical gift in all that time. I'm guessing that the reason my family was contacted in America was because our family line was originally British and our ancestors have always gone to Hogwarts,” Lochlan explained quite proud of himself for being truthful and factual, but also in not mentioning that he and his twin were descended from the Potter line.  
“Wow! That's really neat,” said the same girl who had asked the question. “By the way my name is Michelle Bones. It's nice to meet you.”  
“It's nice to meet you to, Michelle,” Lochlan said shaking her hand across the table thinking she was very pretty.  
“You know we weren't really all that surprised when we were contacted right after we had gotten home from summer camp for several odd things had happened around us, especially when we were small,” Landon said. “It was explained to us that children with the magical talent often have incidents of accidental magic when they are angry or upset and although that didn't happen often since we were basically very happy children, there are a few incidents that come to mind.”  
“At the time we just dismissed those incidents as our imaginations or a trick of light like most children would and we never told our father, because he is usually a very logical and scientific type of person,” Lochlan added. “Our father Spencer is very intelligent, really, he's considered a genuine genius, and doesn't usually believe in things like magic, but he wasn't really surprised either when we were finally contacted when we turned 11 back in November of last year.”  
“You mentioned your father but not your mother,” asked another boy who was also a first year. “Sorry, haven't introduced myself, I am Greyson Owens, but you can call me Grey.”  
“It's nice to meet you,” said Landon shaking the boys hand his twin following suit. “We didn't mention a mother because we've never had one. My father got this girl Clara that he liked pregnant while he was in college and when he found out he offered her some money in order not to get an abortion.”  
Everybody who was listening in gasped for abortion was not something that was considered in the wizarding world, well at least most of the time. If some witch did have an abortion she certainly didn't tell anyone about it for she would be ostracized by a lot of people. Every magical child was considered precious—at least by all but a certain faction of the population who believed that no magic user who wasn't a pureblood should ever be conceived—because a lot of time thanks to the magic a witch had a hard time getting pregnant. This wasn't true a 100 percent of the time of course, but most purebloods only had one child or at most two, the Weasleys being one of the few notable exceptions, and the same was true of some half-bloods. Muggle-borns had the easiest time getting pregnant, probably because they were the first of their line to have the magic. It seemed that the more generations of magic users their were the more difficulty witches had conceiving. Of course that was what conception potions were for, to make it easier for a witch to get pregnant.  
“He told the girl, well I guess she is our mother even if we've never met her, that he would pay her a certain amount of money, but only after she had given birth. My dad was and is no fool and knew that if he gave her the money before we were born she might still have had an abortion.”  
“So you grew up with just your father?” asked Michelle.  
“Well, there's also Sara who helped raise us because my father knew there was no way he could raise twins by himself as just one baby is a lot of work,” Landon said. “She's the housekeeper, but she lives with us and helped raise us from the time we were six months old. Really she's a member of the family.”  
“I'm surprised that your father didn't marry her then if you guys are that close,” said Grey.  
The twins broke out in peals of laughter at that, laughing so hard that they almost fell over.  
“What's so funny?” asked Grey looking offended.  
“Just that my father marry Sara?” Lochlan chuckled. “For one thing she's at least 25 or 30 years older than him and has several grown children.”  
“She's been a grandmother to us ever since we were babies, but our father would never have even considered marrying her,” Landon added still chuckling. Even if he wasn't very much in love with Uncle Aaron, he thought silently. “Don't get us wrong we love Sara, we do, just not like that. Besides Sara was still in mourning for her late husband when she first started working for our father who died of a heart attack.”  
Several other's chuckled by the time Landon had finished his explanation.  
Soon after the feast ended the prefects begin to lead the line of first years towards Ravenclaw tower as they had classes in the morning an they were quite tired.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later Hotch felt his phone vibrate and he took it off his belt at looked at the text message he had been sent.

Got a letter from L & L. Will wait til u get home to read it. Am anxious to see how they are doing. Call me when u have a free minute. Ilyl and miss u. 

S

Hotch smiled as he read the text message from Spencer for now he knew he had something else to look forward to for when he went home in a few hours. Having a last few days mostly alone with Spencer had been a dream come true for him as it had been for his lover. Sure there was Jack, but he had school, his friends and Sara also kept them busy working on his homework, although he and Spencer both did make sure to spend at least a couple of hours with him most evenings, so that he wouldn't feel neglected or like he was unloved.  
It had taken a lot to convince Spencer that sometimes texting was better than talking on the phone, especially when he was working as he wasn't like most young people who loved to text their friends. Actually in a lot of ways Spencer was considerably old-fashioned and probably would have been more comfortable if he had been born in the 20s or 30s instead of the early 1980s, but Hotch was glad that his lover had been born, because he had been far happier in the last seven years, then he had been in all the years previously. Spencer made him feel complete, like he could take on the world and win and he knew that the younger man felt the same about him, which was one of the reasons that their relationship worked as well as it did, despite him being gone so much.  
Hotch began to text Spencer back immediately.

Looking forward to seeing how L & L are doing. Should be home by 6 unless something comes up. Ilyl and miss u too.

H.

Once Hotch had sent his text he tried to get back to his paperwork, but he was having a hard time concentrating as his mind kept drifting back to the team and how they had enthusiastically greeted his return and had what seemed a million questions about why he had taken unpaid leave and what he had been doing while he and Spencer had been gone. Hotch had answered as best he could, but had to dodge quite a few of them as he couldn't exactly tell the rest of the team that the twins were now going to start to learn actual magic as not only would that have gotten him and his family in trouble, the team wouldn't have believed it, except for Garcia of course.  
All he had told them was that the twins had been selected to go to a private school up in Scotland because of their intelligence and other talents and since that was mostly the truth the team had accepted it.  
“So how's it going?” asked Morgan sticking his head in the door. “Beginning to miss Lochlan and Landon yet?”  
“I've missed them ever since Spencer and I dropped them off at that private school in Scotland,” Hotch said looking up at his friend. Derek came into the office closing the door behind him and sat down and want to Hotch's office chairs. “I admit it's been quiet since they left...”  
“And you've had more time alone with Spencer since they've been gone,” Morgan pointed out with something of a leer.  
Hotch smiled for Morgan was spot on. “True enough and we have enjoyed having that time alone, although we've made sure to spend at least a couple of hours with Jack every day so he doesn't feel neglected.”  
“So this place is a boarding school?” asked Morgan curiously.  
“Yes, it's year-round except for two weeks at Christmas and two and a half months in the summer. It starts on September 1st and ends in mid-June,” Hotch replied. “That's one of the reasons I took the unpaid leave so Spencer and I could go check out the school for ourselves and make sure it was legit, since we had never heard of it.”  
“Smart,” Morgan said.  
“Yes, it was,” Hotch said with a nod. “We asked the boys if they'd like to give it a try and they were all for the idea.”  
“What's the other reason you had for taking the unpaid leave?” asked Morgan curiously.  
“Well it turns out that Spencer had some relatives that live in England, the Potters and we wanted to get to know them and their family.”  
“How did Spencer discover he had some relatives that are from England?” asked Morgan surprised.  
“Well, actually it's them that found us,” Hotch admitted. “Their names are Harry and Ginny Potter and they appeared at our door one day. Apparently Harry had a friend of his do some research into his family tree because his parents were killed when he was just a baby so he grew up with his aunt and uncle from his mother's side of the family. Harry was naturally curious about his father's family and when his friend Hermione discovered that the Potters had a child that moved to America about 300 years ago he tracked us down.”  
“You sure that they're related Spencer?” asked Morgan a little suspiciously.  
“Of course,” Hotch said giving Morgan a look that said that their was no way he would not have verified their story since he knew very well how many kooks were out there. Morgan looked sheepish for he knew that Hotch would do anything to protect those he loved, but his boss couldn't exactly blame him for being concerned since their were a lot of dangerous people in the world and Hotch was a member of an FBI unit that was formed to catch the bad guys. “They brought all the research that their friend did with them and it's undeniable, though it's a very distant connection. We stayed with them while we were in England and they have three children with two more on the way as Ginny is expecting twins. In fact we just had a letter from them saying that Ginny's pregnancy was going fine and that she was expecting in March, but that they might be born a few weeks earlier since twins don't usually stick to the schedule.”  
“So have you had a letter from Lochlan and Landon, since they went to school?” asked Morgan.  
“Yes, I just got a text from Spencer saying that a letter had arrived and that he'd wait until I got home to read it.”  
“Man he certainly has more self-control then me, because if it was my child at a strange new school thousands of miles away, I wouldn't be able to stand not opening a letter from them to see how they are doing.”  
“We're not to worried about what the letter is going to say, especially since Harry is a teacher at that same school and promised to keep an eye on them and Harry takes his promises very seriously.”  
“So this Harry is a teacher at the same school that the twins are going to?” asked Morgan.  
“As are two of his own children, the ones who are old enough to go,” Hotch said.  
“So are you telling me that Harry drives all the way from this school in Scotland to his home in England every day.”  
“Ah no,” said Hotch thinking it was technically true, since Harry Apparated from one place to another as most magical people didn't drive. “I forgot to mention that they have a place in Scotland that they use during the school year and they only use the place in London during the summer.” Again technically true for the Potters did have small cottage located in Scotland, that they sometimes used for long weekends.  
“A schoolteacher makes enough to afford two places?” asked Morgan in surprise.  
“Apparently Harry comes from a fairly wealthy family as his father's family was apparently loaded and since he was the last remaining Potter the money came to him. He inherited it when he turned 18, so even though he and Ginny both work, they don't necessarily have to. They told me that they would be bored without something to do and that they didn't want their children to grow up with an exaggerated sense of their own importance and become arrogant and full of themselves, which is exactly what Spencer did with the twins and Jack since they all have trust funds set up for them, but they don't get until they are 21.”  
“Wow! That's really something,” Morgan said Hotch having managed to lay his suspicions to rest.  
“Yes, it is,” Hotch said dryly, “and unlike a lot of rich people they haven't let having a ton of money go to their heads. They are really nice and that was why Spencer and I agreed to let Lochlan and Landon spend the last couple of weeks of summer with them and their children so that the twins could start getting to know their cousins and vice versa. The twins were very excited at the opportunity and could talk of nothing else. I suspect that the letter from the twins is to tell us about their first few days of classes and if they made any friends and the like.”  
Morgan and Hotch chatted for a few more minutes and Hotch managed to be truthful with his subordinate and friend without revealing things he shouldn't.  
Finally Morgan left and Hotch went back to doing the paperwork that had piled up in his absence.


	2. Chapter 2

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch arrived home just before six and was greeted by Sara who said that Spencer was in the study.  
“We'll bring the letter out here to the living room so we can read it,” Hotch offered the housekeeper. “Why don't you go and get Jack out of his room so that he can hear it too.”  
“Alright,” Sara agreed. “I know they've only been gone for like three weeks, but I miss them. I knew they would eventually grow up on me, but I always thought I would have them around until they went off to college, but now they are thousands of miles away.”  
“I know it's hard,” Hotch told her giving her a hug. “I miss them to and so do Spencer and Jack, but you will still get to see them for most of the summer and for Christmas too. I know having them around for the holidays isn't the same as seeing them every day, but we have take what we can get and having them at Hogwarts is no worse then if we'd set them off to a regular boarding school as we still wouldn't see them for most of the year. Harry and Ginny made it clear that their magic had to be trained so that it would stop popping out at unexpected moments when they are angry or upset. You have to admit that there have been several times over the years where odd things happened around them when they were mad.”  
“Yes, that's true,” said Sara. “I always dismissed it as seeing things or a figment of my imagination.”   
“So did all of us,” Hotch assured her. “As adults we don't believe in magic since as children we are admonished whenever we see something that cannot be ordinarily explained and then tell an adult.”  
“Who of course don't believe their child and mark it up to imagination when they're young and if they keep it up as they get older they'll be admonished until they quit believing at all,” Sara agreed. Sara sighed deeply and then headed upstairs to get Jack. “I just miss them you know?” Sara said stopping halfway up the stairs.   
“All parents miss their children when they're away at school,” Hotch said. “The good ones anyway and you are as much a parent to them as Spencer and I are.”  
Sara disappeared onto the second floor and Hotch headed to the study to greet his lover.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“We got a letter from Lochlan and Landon, dad, Uncle Spencer?” Jack said as he bounded into the living room with his usual youthful energy.  
“We sure did, son,” Hotch told Jack smiling at his son's youthful enthusiasm. “Why don't you sit down and we'll read the letter out loud so that everyone can hear how they're doing.”  
Jack sat down and tried to be still, but he was still practically twitching with excitement. He had wished for about the millionth time that he had the talent to do magic so that he could go to Hogwarts school but unfortunately that was not to be because you had to be born with the ability. Finding out that magic was actually real was something of a revelation for the 12-year-old boy, although a welcome one. What child didn't wish that magic was real? And now he knew that it was real, but he also knew that he had to have something inside him, some ability and unfortunately he didn't. He supposed that he was just a plain ordinary muggle to use a wizarding term, not there was anything wrong with that since his dad was just like he was and so were his Uncle and Sara, so it wasn't like he was alone in being ordinary, but still it would've been ultracool if he had the ability to do magic just like the twins, although unfortunately that was not to be.  
“So what does the letter say, dad?” Jack asked.  
Spencer opened the letter, which was not done home ordinary paper, but on parchment instead. “Let's see shall we,” Spencer said. He had the entire letter read in just a few seconds thanks to his ability to read 20,000 words a minute, but finally he began to read out loud to his attentive audience. 

Dear dad, Uncle Aaron, Sara and Jack, Spencer began. 

This is our first of I'm sure many letters to you our family whom we miss already even though we've only been here a few days. Hogwarts is so ultracool that it is hard to believe it is a school and not some fantastic amusement park, but that is probably only because we do not come from a wizarding family and therefore magic that is common place to the children that have grown up with it, is still weird, cool, and unreal all rolled into one to someone who didn't even realize it existed until recently.  
Traveling by train was neat as we met several people onboard and have begun making friends with them. After we got to the train station we were escorted by Hagrid to some boats and went across the lake into this little anteroom, right off the Great Hall. Apparently using the boats is kind of a tradition for the first years and they are controlled by magic. After we entered the Great Hall in order to be sorted there was a welcoming feast that had every kind of food you can imagine.  
By the way both of us along with Art, and his cousin Rose were all sorted into Ravenclaw. Art was so happy that he wasn't in the same house as his brother that you can't imagine how ecstatic he was to not have to put up with James pranks for the next five years.

Everybody, except Sara laughed appreciatively at this for they knew all about James pranks and they could hardly blame his younger brother for not wanting to be in the same house as him where he would be constantly having to look over his shoulder.

Anyway after the feast we were all very tired and stuffed, so the prefects led us to Ravenclaw tower and gave us the password when we went straight to bed once the first year dormitory had been pointed out to us.  
The next morning we found a way to the Great Hall without too much trouble thanks to the tour that we had with Harry and Ginny and we ate a very hearty breakfast. Make sure you tell Sara that we're not going to die of hunger here as there is always plenty to eat for all three meals of the day and all of it—at least so far—is delicious, although not as good as Sara's cooking of course.

Sara sniffed at that for she had been worried about her children in all but name getting enough to eat. “Flatterer,” Sara muttered, but with a pleased smile on her face.

First class of the day after breakfast was charms with Professor Filius Flitwick whom we didn't meet on the tour that the Potters gave us because he was on holiday. He is a very short person that looks to be at least partly goblin, but he is also an excellent teacher, patient, kind and helpful. He seems to be one of those people that enjoys transferring learning to his charges and at least as far as we've seen always cheerful. He is also the head of Ravenclaw house and told us that we can come to him should we have any problems at all.  
Right now we are studying the levitation charm, by trying to make a feather float. Loch and I were only two of the four to succeed in this by the end of that first class and the other two were of course Rose and Art. We each were given five points apiece for succeeding in making our feather float.  
After that we had transfiguration with Remus Lupin and he's really good in that subject. He apparently took over for McGonagall when she became headmistress. According to Rose and Art, Professor Lupin has had some big shoes to fill since McGonagall was apparently some kind of genius in the subject and was hired right after at Hogwarts to fill the vacant post right after she graduated. He seems to fill the position very confidently and really knows his stuff and he is also very informative and helpful.  
After that we ate lunch in the Great Hall and then headed to potions which is taught by Professor Amanda Mann. We managed to brew a simple cure for boils, but I have a feeling potions it's not going to be my favorite subject as it requires a lot of nitpicking details that I just don't have the patience for. You have to stir a potion a certain number of times and prepare the ingredients exactly right, etc...etc... Of course a cure for boils is relatively simple to prepare, but Professor Mann has warned us that if we take potions past fifth year they will get more and more complicated, with a lot of different ingredients that have to be added at exactly the right time and like I said takes way more patience then I have. Unfortunately it is a required course up through the end of fifth year. By the way Lan was exactly the opposite from me and enjoyed the class more then I did as he has more patience then I do for the kind of nitpicking details that potions seems to require.  
Well we'll sign off here as we have homework to do. 

Love to everyone,  
Lochlan and Landon

PS. Art and Rose told me to tell you hello from them, so hello. Well see you at Christmas.

The letter was done in two different handwritings so it was obvious that both twins had written parts of it.  
“Seems like they're doing really well,” Hotch said finally when Spencer had finished reading.  
“I didn't really expect such a long letter,” Spencer said as he folded the several pieces of parchment together.  
Hotch knew his lover and knew that he would keep the letter in a safe place and never dispose of it.  
“Why not? They're in a strange place it's the first couple of days of course their going to write you a long letter to let you know how they're doing. They love you both and want you to know that they're okay,” Sara said.  
“I agree with Sara,” Hotch said. “I'm sure we'll get plenty of other letters and some will probably be long and others will be short, but I won't be surprised if they come every couple of days for awhile until they really start settling in and start to make friends.”  
“It sounds like they've already made a couple of friends,” Sara pointed out.   
“Well, yes,” Hotch admitted, “but Art is their cousin and Rose is related to the Potter children through their mother's side of the family, so the twins and Rose are not related, but I would still like them to make friends with other children their own age that aren't related to them.”  
“Give it a few weeks,” Spencer suggested, “once they have a chance to settle into classes I'm sure they'll start to make friends. They're bound to be in their dormitory with several other boys so perhaps we'll hear about them in a letter sometime soon.”  
“I wish I could go,” Jack said longingly. “It would be so cool!”   
“That it would be,” Hotch agreed smiling at his son, “but unfortunately magic doesn't run in our family at least as far as I know anyway.”  
“And did you think what I would do with no children at all to look after,” Sara sniffed looking offended. “It's bad enough that the twins off at Hogwarts and I won't see them accept at Christmas and the summer, are you willing to deprive me of having any children to take care of?”  
“No of course not,” Jack assured her getting up from where he was sitting and going to give Sara a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You know I love you.”  
“It's bad enough that it won't be too much longer before you're off to college.”   
“That is still years away,” Hotch said his voice even. He knew was going to happen he didn't like to think of his son being all grown up on him. He knew that he needed to let Jack go when the time came, but it was going to be hard and Hotch was sure that all parents had the same problem about letting their kids grow up and have their own lives, the good ones anyway.  
“It'll be here sooner than you think,” Sara said. “He's already 12, in six or seven years he'll be going off to college and that might seem a long time away now, but the time will pass quickly.”  
“I would think you'd be happy to be able to relax some now that the twins aren't here,” Spencer added with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You only have Jack to look after now and that should give you more time to do some things for yourself.”  
Sara sniffed at that and told Spencer quite smartly making Hotch grin in amusement, “I am what is known as a caregiver, I am never happier then when I have people to care for and love.”  
“And also makes you very good at what you do,” Spencer told her with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.  
“Exactly,” Sara sniffed again causing the two other adults to grin at each other in amusement, although no one actually dared laugh as they didn't want to offend the older lady.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A few days later another letter arrived and when he did Hotch just happened to be home for once.   
“We have another letter,” Hotch told Spencer as he just happened to be in the study where the box was located doing some paperwork.  
“Let me get Sara and then we can read it,” Spencer said.   
Jack unfortunately was not home at that time as he was out with some of his friends and they weren't about to wait to read a letter from their sons.  
Spencer returned with Sara and once they were seated Hotch opened the letter, scanned it quickly, although not as fast as Spencer could and then said, “It's from Harry instead of the twins.”   
“Well what does it say?” Sara asked interested

Dear Spencer, Aaron and family, Hotch began.

I thought I'd write this letter to you to let you know how the twins are doing. They are actually doing really well in most of their subjects and certainly much better than most first years. They are very talented. As you know I teach defense against the dark arts, which really is a very important class especially when the war was upon us back when I was going to school. I am proud to say that both Lochlan and Landon seem to have a real knack for the subject and the truth of the matter is they remind me of me when I was taking it the only difference being that they won't have a different teacher every school year because of the curse placed on the position. When I was going to school Voldemort was still active even if he was only a wraith for some 13 years, no teacher could keep the defense against the dark arts position for more than a single school year and they usually ended up either dying or leaving for one reason or another. Having different teachers every school year wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that not a single one of them, with the exception of Remus Lupin, 3rd year, knew how to teach defense or even how to do it themselves.  
What Dumbledore was thinking at the time when he hired people like Gilderoy Lockhart I don't know. Perhaps it was the best he could do as there weren't exactly a lot of people knocking down the headmaster's door looking to teach defense.  
In any case the twins are doing exceptionally well in my class and while they're not always the first to get a new defense technique they are certainly never the last.  
Lochlan and Landon also visit me when they have free time and we've been getting to know each other. The three of us talk about the wizarding world and I try to educate them about our world and how different it is from the muggle one. Really I'm trying to save them from being sneered at by purebloods that think they're better than anyone else and some other people as well. A lot of muggle-borns have trouble adjusting to the wizarding world as it is nothing like the muggle one that they are familiar with. It is better to give the muggle-borns and muggle raised a foundation upon which to build while still keeping their muggle roots although a lot of magical people don't agree with this idea. I have suggested more than once about having a class that would teach muggle-borns about the wizarding worlds, the basics like banking and how our world is different from the one that they have grown up in until they found out that they had magic. Our world is absolutely nothing like the muggle one as for one thing we are at least 150 years behind muggles technology. There are many misconceptions among magic users about people who have no magic. For one thing a lot of magic users believe that muggles don't have two brain cells to rub together, but what they don't realize or perhaps refuse to acknowledge is that fact that muggles and magic users are all still basically the same, except for that fact that we can use an energy or perhaps a better word is force to do things without the use of technology, while they have to do things the hard way. Just because we are different in this way does not mean that we are not fundamentally the same and a lot of magic users fail to realize this and are taught to believe that they are better then anybody else, especially someone who has no magic at all.   
The wizarding world has improved a great deal since I was a student as now a lot of witches and wizards have cell phones and understand how they work, although not everybody approves of the change, but that is mostly older people who would like things to remain as they have always been. Certain muggle technology has been introduced into the wizarding world as well and so the world of magic is a lot less quaint then it used to be, but it has had to be done slowly as it takes time for magical folks, especially the older ones to accept that we must be a little less stubborn in changing or pretty soon we will start to stick out even more we do now when we go out in to the muggle world. Slowly but surely the younger generation is learning to use muggle technology and also how to fit in to the muggle world much easier than their elders and this is a good thing as muggles have the advantage of numbers over magical folks and it is much better to fit in then to be thought of as odd and be ostracized.  
Lochlan and Landon are both very intelligent young men and seem to grasp their lessons with ease and are always willing to help their classmates understand what it is they have been taught. What is truly amazing is that they are popular not just with their own Ravenclaw classmates, but have started making friends across house lines and that is a very rare ability to have as most students tend to stick to their own housemates and don't bother to make friends with anybody from another house. I have seen them hanging around with Franklin Longbottom, who is the oldest son of Neville and Luna two very dear friends. Frank is a Gryffindor just like his father was and is also in his first year as well. I have also seen them hanging around with several first years from Hufflepuff and they seem to be taking the time to really become good friends with other students in other houses and not just their own, so you should be very proud of them for being willing to put up with the peer pressure to only make friends with their own house for it is a very rare trait indeed to not be willing to be forced to conform so as not to be ostracized. Having friends among the other house is not as looked down on as it was doing my school days because of that time we were at war and certain factions, Slytherins in particular, made everybody who didn't share their pureblood attitude miserable. Attitudes of the last 15 years have also changed and a lot of magic users who survived the war have taught their the children tolerance unlike what it was in my day and especially my parents day.  
If we are very lucky our children will never know war like we did and they will never have to fight for their lives or the lives of their friends. If we were even luckier we will not see another Dark Lord in our lifetime or even better our children's lifetime. A lot of the reason that Voldemort became so powerful was a lot of the I am better then anyone else attitudes back in my parents and my day and also witches and wizard being unwilling or unable to do anything about them as most of our society are a nation of followers who instead of thinking for ourselves let the government do it for us. There's nothing wrong with that so long as the government is not corrupt, but when it is it is a good thing to be able to think for yourself instead of following someone that might lead you and your family into harm's way. Things have changed over the last 15 years for the better, mostly, even though it's a very slow process so hopefully this will stop another Dark Lord from rising for a very long time. If another Dark Lord does rise I intend for my students to be ready to defend themselves if it is necessary for them to do so unlike in my day where most of our defense instructors couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag, much less teach us defense.  
The only cloud on the horizon seems to be some of the Slytherins who come from old pureblood families that managed to stay out of Azkaban. Tyler Nott and Finley Parkinson are just like their parents in the the fact that all the pureblood crap has been instilled in them by their families and both have gone out of their way to be nasty to not only Lochlan and Landon, but anyone whose parents don't have magic. The rules here at Hogwarts are much stricter then when Dumbledore was in charge and anybody caught in any wrongdoing is immediately given detention or points taken depending on the severity of the offense. If you were defending yourself because you were attacked then that is different and he is the attacker that will be penalized. Unfortunately when Dumbledore was in charge he was very lax on discipline and let the students practically get away with murder. Children need to be punished when they do something wrong so that they can learn that such behaviors are unacceptable, because a lot of them won't ever learn any better if they are allowed to act any way they want without fear of being punished for their behavior. So what if some of the children have very rich parents? The parents sent them to school to learn and if they are allowed to get away with unhealthy behavior like bullying or casting a hex when someone's back is turned then how are they ever to learn to be decent citizens? Sorry to get up on my soapbox, but this has always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine and about how Dumbledore always let some students off with just a slap on the wrist so to speak. Doing that only encourages them to act worse and instead they should have been suspended or expelled for certain behavior. There should always be a line that if they cross it gets those actions to be taken. Luckily ever since the war we have a much more honest government and a better headmistress who understands that sometimes such actions are necessary in order to get certain students to correct their behavior. Money no longer has the power that it once did, although I realize that there will always be corrupt people in the world. Luckily we have a very honest Minster of Magic who runs a tight ship and certain laws have been passed that make it hard to bribe someone and if they do and are caught stiffer penalties and fines usually stop them from accepting a bribe again. Also Veritaserum has started being used on the employees of the Ministry of Magic once every six months to ensure that they remain honest as we don't want another dark wizard to rise again anytime soon or that anyone is not using their position for their own ends. Kingsley told me once that he was sorry that these kind measures were necessary, but he wanted to ensure that another dark wizard did not rise after Voldemort as we lost a lot of good witches and wizards and entire family lines were wiped out completely as Ginny and I told you when we first met. All ministry employees must sign a waiver that they will allow the administering of Veritaserum twice a year and if they don't then they are not allowed to work in the ministry, no matter how qualified.  
I know you were wondering what this Veritaserum is, so I will tell you that it is a very powerful truth serum kind of like sodium pentathol in the muggle world. It forces you to tell the absolute truth to any questions that are asked of you.  
I know this might seem as if we violating peoples rights and privacy, but it's only done for the ones that work in the ministry and they sign a waiver before they are hired. Using Veritaserum might seem like we're going to extremes, but we cannot afford to have another government that is so corrupt that innocent people are thrown into Azkaban like my godfather was, without a trial and other peoples lives are ruined because all the government cares about is a certain section of the population, namely the purebloods.  
The purebloods ran things for too long and bribed government officials in order to get their way, whether that was getting a discriminatory law passed or putting someone in Azkaban without a trial like my godfather Sirius Black. Anybody who wasn't a pureblood did not get the top positions in the government back in my father's and my day and people were hired not because they were qualified for the position, but due to their heritage and bloodlines.  
The twins have their flying class in a couple of weeks and I'll let you know how it goes unless they write you first. If you're anything like me they will feel like they were born to fly and I know that if their any good they will be begging you to buy them brooms so they can try out for the Quidditch team.  
And yes I realize that most first years aren't allowed to have their own brooms, but that's only because a lot of them don't know how to fly when they first come to Hogwarts, and in fact never heard of flying on a broom, which is muggle-borns for the most part. I was let on the team during my first year because in my first flying class because I rescued Neville's Remembrall before it hit the ground, no thanks to Draco Malfoy. I did a dive and caught it and didn't even get a scratch and on an old, outmoded broom that really needed to be replaced that is practically considered a miracle. My father was apparently a Chaser on the Gryffindor team, while I was a Seeker. So you see exceptions have been made in the past and probably will be in the future.  
I had better cut this letter off here as the house-elves have called us for dinner. I hope we can become good friends as you learn more about the wizarding world and I and Ginny would be happy to help with that, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask either in person or a letter and we will answer it if we can.  
I hope to hear from you soon. 

Sincerely   
Harry

“Well that was certainly… interesting,” Sara said after a moment.   
“It was,” Hotch agreed as he folded the letter carefully. “A lot of what he wrote about though we witnessed for ourselves when we visited the Ministry of Magic while we were gone.”  
“Harry told us that it used to be much worse the way that purebloods treated others like something nasty on the bottom of their shoe before Kingsley was minster. Some people that work there still feel that way, but they don't dare voice them, especially in the ministry or they could get themselves in trouble and be up for an inquiry at the very least.”  
“Kingsley told us that the ministry is so changed from when he used to work in the Auror under Cornelius Fudge that it's practically a different place. Creatures like house-elves, centaurs and goblins are treated with more respect by most people then they ever have been before and there is better understanding about muggles, so all and all the wizarding world is a lot safer and more open minded place then it was before Voldemort was defeated,” Spencer said.  
“That's a good thing then,” Sara said.  
“That it is,” Hotch agreed, “although no form of government is perfect, just look at our own, it at least looks after the rights of the people like it's supposed to instead of stepping all over them.”  
“And that is the way it should be,” Spencer said firmly and the other two people nodded in agreement.  
“Well it sounds like the twins are learning a lot,” said Sara.  
“That it does,” said Spencer who looked somewhat pensive for a moment.  
“You okay?” asked Hotch gently looking at his lover's expression.  
“Yeah, I just miss the twins is all,” Spencer said. “I know they are learning a lot, but at least if they were going to regular school I would get to see them every day. I'll be okay. The letters do help and it is better then not hearing from them at all, but...”  
“You still miss them,” Hotch said.  
“Yeah,” Spencer said looking sheepish. “I know I have to let them grow up, but...”  
“It's hard,” said Sara with feeling knowing exactly how Spencer felt as she missed them to, probably as much as Spencer did.  
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed leaning his head on Hotch's shoulder.  
“They'll be home in a few months for Christmas,” Hotch said placing an arm around Spencer's thin shoulders and holding him close kissing the top of his head.  
“That's still over three months away though,” Spencer whined looking dejected.  
“We'll just have to find you a hobby to keep you busy,” Hotch said understanding very well how Spencer felt as he missed them to, although probably not as much as his lover did since he was their father.  
“Maybe you could try writing a book?” Sara suggested. “I always thought you would make a good writer, with you being so intelligent.”  
“You know that's not a bad idea,” Spencer admitted thoughtfully. “I never thought of myself as a writer, but it would certainly give me something to do, while you are at work and the twins are at school. What could I write about though?”  
“Nonfiction?” Hotch suggested. “Historical novels?”   
“That might not be a bad idea as I've noticed that a lot of historical novels are inaccurate. I'll have to do some research on the subject.”  
Hotch and Sara smiled at each other over Spencer's head and knew that they had given him food for thought at least.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Finally it was Christmastime and Sara and Spencer were expecting the twins home at any moment for the next two weeks. Finally the twins arrived right in the middle of the living room along with their trunks as one minute they weren't there and the next they were.  
Spencer of course was there since he didn't really have a job that he had to be at and so was Jack and Sara, while Hotch was still at work.  
“Welcome home,” Spencer said as he gave each one of them hugs. “I missed you so much.”   
“We missed you too, dad,” both twins answered at the same time grinning while returning the hugs.  
“Hey don't I get any hugs?” asked Sara trying to sound put out with them.   
Lochlan and Landon turned towards her and hugged her as well at the same time. “We missed you too,” Landon assured her giving her a kiss on one cheek while at the same time Lochlan gave her a kiss on the other one.  
“And we especially missed your cooking,” Lochlan added with a grin his eyes sparkling mischievously.  
Sara hugged the two boys to her and was glad that they were home for the next two weeks before they had to go back to school.  
“Come on tell me all about Hogwarts,” Jack begged.   
“Alright,” Landon agreed as he gave Jack a hug. “We missed you big brother.”  
“I've missed you too and often wished I could be at Hogwarts with you.”  
“We do to,” Lochlan agreed.  
“Why don't you wait until your uncle gets home before you start telling us all about your time at school,” Spencer suggested. “For now why don't you just go unpack and give your dirty clothes to Sara and by the way I'll take your wands and put them in the safe so you won't be tempted to experiment with them and get yourselves hurt.”  
“Ah, dad,” both twins protested at the same time.   
“I know your curiosity, and I know you'll be tempted to experiment with spells while you're at home and risk getting yourself hurt or worse. You'll get them back before you leave for school in a couple of weeks,” Spencer ordered sternly holding out his hand expectantly.  
Both twins reluctantly handed their father their wands and Spencer took them from his sons.  
“I'm sorry about this, sons,” Spencer told his son sympathetically, “but neither Aaron or I want you to get hurt experimenting with spells when there's nobody to watch you to make sure you do it correctly and considering how curious you both are you would both end up experimenting before the end of vacation and we can't exactly help you since we don't have magic. Harry warned us that your wands wouldn't register in the States since they were bought in England. He said that the Americans have a different way of tracking magic wands then they do.”  
“We understand dad,” Lochlan assured his father still looking disappointed, though he really did understand what their father was talking about. If they experimented and got hurt in the process what could their family really do for them since they didn't have any magic to reverse the effects and what if they were seriously hurt and they needed serious medical attention?  
“Now why don't you to go unpack,” Sara told them gently. “I'll prepare a snack while you're gone. I baked chocolate chip cookies just this morning.”   
The twins cheered at this announcement and headed upstairs dragging their trucks behind them with ease since they both had lightening charms on them to make them only weigh a few pounds no matter how much was in them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The Christmas holiday was going well, Hotch thought with a small smile as he watched the three children run out the back door so that they could play in the snow. Virginia had gotten quite a lot of snow this year as their were over 6 inches, perfect for building snowmen or making snowballs for a fight.  
“It's good to have Lochlan and Landon home, isn't it?” Spencer asked as he came to stand beside Hotch who was staring out the window.  
Hotch looked at his lover and said, “Yes, it is and I'm sure you are, especially happy as I know how much you missed your sons.”  
“I am happy to have them home,” Spencer admitted, “but I've enjoyed having more time just you and me too. If you weren't on call I probably would have suggested that all of us take a vacation somewhere as a family since all three boys are growing up way to fast on both of us, but since you are we can't do that.”  
“Maybe next year we can,” Hotch suggested smiling at the thought, “we can take the boys somewhere we've never been before. You're right, they're growing up way too fast on us and it won't be many more years before we have the house to ourselves, except for Sara.”   
“By then she'll probably be ready for retirement by that time though,” Spencer said, “as she isn't exactly young anymore.”  
“Maybe you're right, but this is her home I have a feeling that she'll be serving us until she's old and gray which is hopefully many years in the future,” Hotch said.   
“Oh I would never throw her out of her home,” Spencer promised, “as I love her too, but if she asked to retire I wouldn't say no. I know she was initially hired to help look after the twins, but she really has become an integral part of this little family and looks after all of us very well.”  
“I agree,” Hotch said who had come to love Sara just as much as he loved Spencer and the three children, just in different ways.  
“So do you think Lochlan and Landon will marry witches or muggles like us?” asked Spencer.   
“Only time will tell,” Hotch said. “Really they're too young to start dating right now, although I am aware that it won't be much longer before they reach that age where they find girls no longer icky and start seeing them as attractive.”  
“Will you be shocked if one of them turns out like you and me?” asked Spencer.  
Hotch thought about it then shook his head, “Not really, although I'm not sure how accepting the wizarding world will be if one them turns out to like their own sex.”  
“Or our world either,” Spencer agreed, “Just look at all the crap we've had to put up with, when people realize we are a couple.”  
“We'll cross that bridge when we come to,” Hotch said. “Hopefully it won't affect their careers if that does happen. Of course it's also possible that they'll both find girlfriends and not boyfriends.”  
“And even if it does affect whatever careers they eventually choose, thanks to their trust funds they won't starve, although I would rather not have them depending on their trust funds for their livelihoods.”  
“There's no point in worrying about it now when they are two young to even consider having girlfriends or boyfriends right now,” Hotch said.  
“It won't be long though,” Spencer said looking pensive. “Harry warned me that at least 85% of the wizarding world marry right out of Hogwarts, like he and Ginny did and that could very well happen with Lochlan and Landon.”  
“If it happens, it happens,” said Hotch with a shrug. “It isn't like they need to get a good job before getting married, since they do have their trust funds and yes, I know they can't touch them until they are 21, but do you really think that Harry hasn't opened to accounts at Gringotts in the twins names?”  
“He wouldn't do that without asking us first would he?” asked Spencer looking startled as it had never occurred to him that Harry would do that, although he knew it should have since Harry was one of those people who didn't bother to ask permission if he felt like he was doing the right thing and technically the twins were Potters, even if it was a very distant connection.  
“Yes, I believe he would,” Hotch said. “He's one of those people that believe that being rich is a burden, especially since he only inherited it, because his parents were murdered. If he had gotten it because they died of natural causes it would be different. Besides, technically the twins are Potters and you do things for family or those you consider family that you wouldn't do for anybody else.”  
“You're right,” Spencer said trying to figure out how he felt about Harry giving his sons money, probably a lot money.  
“Don't let it bother you,” Hotch told Spencer. “Harry isn't trying to say that we can't take care of our sons, just that they're his family as much as ours and until recently all the family he had, at least from the Potter side was his children. Don't make a big deal out of it because of pride.”  
“Would you be saying the same if it was Jack?” asked Spencer with an eyebrow raised incredulously.  
“Absolutely,” Hotch assured his mate, “so long as I was sure that he was doing it for the right reasons and not to try to cause a split in the family or for darker purposes. Harry doesn't expect anything in return for his generosity, expect to get to know the family he never knew he had until recently and no one can blame him for that.”  
“I suppose,” Spencer finally agreed, knowing that Hotch had more experience in the the world then he did and so he would trust his lover's judgement on the matter.  
“Think of it like an inheritance,” Hotch suggested, “and maybe if you do it won't bother you so much. Say if you had a distant uncle that had died and left your sons a lot of money.”  
“That does make me feel better,” Spencer admitted after he had thought about it that way for a few minutes.   
“Good,” Hotch said. “So why don't we shelve this discussion for a later date and go upstairs while the boys are busy,” Hotch suggested with a smirk and Spencer immediately felt his insides squirm in happy anticipation and agreed immediately knowing exactly what his lover was talking about and also that he was trying to distract him, which he greatly appreciated.  
The two of them turned from where they were watching the boys playing in the snow and headed upstairs arm and arm.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

One month later

“They is here, they is here,” a squeaky voice shouted excitedly waking Hotch and Spencer out of a deep sleep.  
Hotch sat up immediately reaching for his gun that was on the bedside table and demanded, “Who's there?”   
“Dobby, is sorry I woke you up, but Master Harry told me to come and tell you that Mistress Ginny has had the twins and wants you to come and visit and see them.”  
Spencer flicked on the light that was on his bedside table and both he and Hotch were able to see the strange creature that had spoken. It was a house-elf like the ones that worked at Potter Manor.  
“You work for the Potters then?” asked Spencer as he finally came fully awake.   
“Yes, sir,” Dobby said looking sheepish that he had scared them so much. “Master Harry gave me instructions to see if you want to come see the twins. He told me not to scare you that you wouldn't be expecting me, but I was so excited as their hasn't been a birth in the Potter family in almost ten years. I is sorry that I frightened you. He also told me to give you this,” Dobby added handed over rolled piece of parchment that was tied with a ribbon.  
Hotch removed the ribbon and unrolled Harry's quick note.   
Both Spencer and Hotch recognized the handwriting immediately as they should considering how many letters Harry had written them over the last few months.

Dear Spencer and Aaron,

Sorry, to bother you and I hope this letter finds you well. I just wanted to let you know about the birth of two more sons to the Potter family and thought you might want to come and see the newest members of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter. Ginny is exhausted, but fine and is very happy with her two newest sons, although we were both secretly hoping for at least one daughter. If you want to Dobby will bring you to visit as house-elves have no trouble transporting themselves or others across great distances, although it is not commonly known that they are capable of transporting anybody but themselves. If you aren't interested just tell Dobby and he will inform me that you were unable to make it.

Harry

“You like children then?” Spencer asked curiously as Hotch handed him the note and he read it in about two seconds.  
“All house-elves love children and are often used to look after infants and are often used to raise them by the wealthy of the wizarding world,” Dobby informed them looking sad. “Master Harry and Mistress Ginny never did that though and raised them themselves, although I, another house-elf or Mrs. Wheezy were asked to babysit while they were working.”  
It took a second for Hotch and Spencer to translate Mrs. Wheezy to Mrs. Weasley Ginny's mother.  
“Well as long as we are awake we might as well get dressed,” Hotch said and Spencer nodded getting out of bed, yawning hugely looking incredibly sleepy, but also incredibly adorable at least in Hotch's humble opinion. “It's just as well that tomorrow is Saturday and I don't have to work unless I get called on a case, so if Ginny had to have the twins the timing couldn't have been much better, although she is about a month early.”  
“That happens all the time with multiple births,” Spencer said who had read a lot on the subject. “It's a very rare event when twins or triplets are born on time instead of early. Twins are usually born anywhere from a month to six weeks early while triplets are typically six to eight weeks before their due date.”  
Hotch shook his head as it always amazed him even after all the years he had known Spencer how he could spout off facts even at 2:45 in the morning.  
“Well, ready to go?” asked Spencer as soon as he had pulled on his socks and shoes.   
“Yes,” Hotch said who had been in the bathroom giving himself a shave and brushing his teeth. “Let's leave a note for Sara and Jack so they don't worry if we're not here when they get up in the morning.”  
“Ah, good idea,” Spencer agreed, taking a legal pad out of the nightstand drawer on his side of the bed and a pen and wrote a quick note. “I'll just leave this in the kitchen for Sara where she will be sure to see it and then she can tell Jack,” Spencer said leaving the room and heading down the stairs as quietly as possible so that he didn't wake of the other two occupants in the house.  
It wasn't more then five minutes later that Spencer returned closing the bedroom door quietly behind him.   
“We're ready to go,” Hotch told Dobby who nodded from where he was standing in the corner quietly watching the activity.  
“Each of you grab one of my arms,” Dobby instructed them.  
Spencer and Hotch did so and suddenly they felt weightless for just a second and when they reappeared they were standing in the lobby of St. Mungo's hospital in the middle of London England.  
“Wow, what a rush,” Spencer said shaking his head since he was just a little dizzy.  
“I'll be going now,” Dobby said, “to inform Master Harry that you are here.”  
“Thank you, Dobby,” Hotch said causing the little house-elf to blush.  
“You is welcome. The reception desk is over there just tell them that you are relatives of Harry Potter's and they will take you to him,” Dobby said as he snapped his fingers and disappeared.  
Hotch and Spencer did as Dobby said and asked the receptionist to tell them what floor that maternity was on and that they were relatives of Harry's.  
The receptionist as well as the few people in the lobby looked at the two men strangely, because of their very obvious American accents, but since Harry had already made sure they were on the list of people that were allowed to come and see Ginny in her room the receptionist simply pointed them towards the elevators and told them the correct floor.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Well, I'm glad you made it,” Harry said as he looked up as the door to Ginny's room opened and Spencer stuck his head in. “I wasn't sure if you would not since I know was very early in America.  
“We couldn't miss this,” Spencer chirped enthusiastically. “I haven't felt this excited since my sons were born.”  
“It's just a good thing that it was very early Saturday morning since I don't usually have to work the weekends unless me and the rest of the team are already on a case,” Hotch said as he and Spencer entered the room and walked over to sit beside Harry, who had conjured two more chairs.  
“So how did the birth go?” asked Spencer.   
“It wasn't as hard as when she had James,” Harry answered, “but then again first babies are often harder and take longer than any others. She had a relatively easy birth actually even though it was twins. Our sons were apparently anxious to come and meet their parents because there wasn't any problems, other then the obvious tiredness you get whenever you are working to push the baby out of the birth canal.”  
“So where are they?” asked Hotch as he looked around the hospital room and at Ginny's sleeping face her vibrant red hair spilled out over the pillow.   
“The nurse should be bringing them in any minute so that Ginny can feed them. They had to be cleaned up and checked over, you know the usual weight, length, and things like that. They're small and weigh less then any of Ginny's and I's other children when they were born, but then again they are a month premature and twins do tend to weigh less than a single baby or at least that's what mum said.”  
“So what have you named them?” asked Spencer and it was Ginny who answered as she had woken up doing the quiet conversation.   
“We decided to name them after my mother's brothers who died during the first war as they were also identical twins. I never met my uncles since they died years before I was born, but their names were Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Mum was really choked up, when we told him what names we had decided on as she was very close to her twin brothers who were a couple years older than her. She was apparently the baby of the family. Even after all these years she still misses her brothers and she told Harry and I that she was glad that their names would live on in the family.”  
Before either Hotch or Spencer could respond there was a knock on the door and it was opened by a nurse wheeling a pram big enough to hold two babies at the same time. Both twins were wailing at the top of their little lungs because they were hungry.  
“Well they certainly have a good set of lungs on them,” Spencer said with an amused smile as he watched the nurse wheel the pram beside Ginny's bed.   
“Yes, they do and that is despite them being a month premature,” the nurse told Spencer with a half smile thinking he was very handsome and that his companion was even handsomer.  
“Come here, my little darling,” Ginny cooed to one of the twins as she picked him up out of the nurses arms. “Now that's a good boy, isn't it?”  
“So how do you tell them apart?” Hotch asked curiously. “They appear absolutely identical to me with the same hair and eye color, facial bone structures and they even appear basically the same length and size.”  
“Well Fabian here is a little smaller weighs a little less then Gideon does,” Ginny said, “but that's really to be expected. I'm sure they'll catch up to each other in a few months. As for telling them apart well they each have a bracelet on their wrists that give their names, date of births, etc...etc.”  
“What are you going to do after you get home though?” asked Spencer.   
“Well, I did ask mom for some ideas as she had trouble telling George and Fred apart to at least when they were young. Actually correction, she still does,” Ginny giggled.  
“But the twins work at fooling her you know,” Harry said. “They acted so much alike when they were younger on purpose and now it's just become part of their personalities.”  
“At least since the war we can now tell them apart,” Ginny said.   
“How?” asked Spencer curiously.   
“Oh you only met Fred and George briefly, but George lost half an ear to a dark curse when he and several others were trying to get me away from Privet Drive which is the street where I grew up. We were ambushed by about a dozen Death Eaters. Everybody had taken Polyjuice in order to look like me so it was less likely that I would be hit and a Death Eater got in a lucky shot and cursed off the bottom half of George's right ear,” Harry explained.  
“Dark magic for the most part cannot be healed,” Ginny explained. “If George had lost his ear to a light spell and if he had been able to retrieve it, it probably could've been reattached.”  
“You can actually reattach a limb,” asked Hotch in astonishment looking so flabbergasted that Harry and Ginny tried not to laugh, but then again magic could do many things that technology couldn't and vice versa.   
“Yes, we can,” Harry said. “I had all the bones in my arm removed once and they were regrown overnight. Our idiot professor at the time by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart tried to heal the fracture and ended up removing every single one. We found out later that he was a complete fraud and that all the stuff he had written in his books he had stolen from other people. The only spell he was really good at was the memory charm, which is the reason he had never been caught before then. I hope I never have to go through having my bones regrown overnight,” Harry said with a very realistic shudder, “because it is a very painful process and it makes it almost impossible to get any rest at all.”  
“If that idiot had left Harry's arm alone Madam Pomfrey could've healed his broken bones in an instant instead of Harry having to go through the painful process of having them regrown,” Ginny snorted.  
“He used his fame to get the gullible to believe he could do things he couldn't possibly pull off if you know what I mean as I'm sure you met people like that,” Harry said.  
“So what happened to him?” asked Hotch knowing exactly what Harry was talking about for he had met people like Gilderoy Lockhart in the course of his job.  
“Well my brother Ron's wand had been broken and spellotaped back together so wasn't really working properly,” Ginny explained. “Lockhart stole his wand tried to curse him and Harry with a memory charm which backfired and he lost his memory instead. Last we heard he was still here in St. Mungo's in the permanent spell damage ward.”  
“Personally, I hope he never gets his memory back,” Harry muttered.  
“There is more to the story isn't there?” asked Spencer knowing that a lot was being left out.   
“Yes, and we'll have to tell you the whole story later what happened during my first year and Harry's second,” said Ginny.  
As they had been talking Ginny had been feeding the twins one at a time and finally they had quieted down and gone back to sleep.  
“There full now little man?” Ginny asked quietly as she rubbed one of the twin's backs and heard him burp gently onto the burp cloth on her shoulder.  
“Would you like to hold them?” Harry asked.  
“Sure,” said Spencer eagerly and Hotch echoed him almost as eagerly for it had been years since Jack was so small and he had missed a lot of his son's infant and toddler years because of his work, which he regretted.  
Harry gently lifted Gideon out of the pram and handed him to Hotch and then he took Fabian from his mother's arms and and handed him to Spencer. Both men looked down at the two infants who were so exactly alike that it was impossible to tell them apart. The boys slept peacefully hardly moving at all in the two men's arms.  
“They are adorable,” said Hotch as he gently leaned down and kissed Gideon on the forehead.  
“Well, we think so, but then again we are their parents so we are supposed to be prejudiced,” Ginny said with a grin.  
“So did you give them middle names?” asked Hotch.  
“Yep,” Harry said with a grin knowing they were about to be very shocked. “Fabian's middle name is Spencer and Gideon's is Aaron.  
“What?” exclaimed both Spencer and Aaron in shock, just remembering to keep their voices down at the last moment so as not to disturb the twins sleep.  
Both Potters broke out laughing at the two men's reaction and Ginny said giggling, “Yep, we really did name them after you two.”  
“We knew you would be shocked, but the two of you and your family have come to mean a great deal to us and we hope that if we make you two the godparents it will make you come and visit us as often as you can,” Harry said.  
“You want to make us the godparents?” Hotch exclaimed in astonishment.   
“Yes, we do,” Ginny assured them. “Harry and I discussed this at great length and so it was a mutual decision. We hope that you both will accept. We want Spencer to be Fabian's godfather and you, Aaron to be Gideon's, thus the middle names.”  
“But we live thousands of miles away,” Hotch protested thinking that it wasn't very logical to ask them to be godfathers. “Shouldn't you ask somebody that actually lives in England?”  
“We know that,” Harry assured them patiently, “but you've got to realize that you can be transported here instantaneously even if you want to spend just a few hours thanks to magic and in fact Dobby has offered to come and pick you up anytime you want to spend a few hours in England or even a few days. All you have to do is write us a letter first and let us know at least a day ahead of time. You could come for some of the Quidditch games for example just to spend a few hours with your sons, who are already hooked on the sport by the way.”  
“Don't we know it,” Hotch muttered with a grin. “We've had letters filled with nothing but the mention of Quidditch.”  
“What can I say most witches and wizards of any age are mad about Quidditch,” said Harry with a grin. “I still remember when I first started at Hogwarts and how I had never heard of Quidditch until Ron told me all about it. I ended up making Seeker my very first year. I found out by accident I could fly like the wind. Apparently Quidditch is a talent that is often passed down through family lines. Over half the Weasley family is very good at the game and are mad about it. Ron is an excellent Keeper, Fred and George are two of the best Beaters ever, Ginny is an excellent Chaser and also a pretty good Seeker and I've heard that Charlie was also a pretty good Seeker to when he went to Hogwarts. The only two that don't seem to have any interest in playing it are Bill and Percy.”  
“Harry's father was also an excellent Chaser and his name is on the Quidditch cup that sits in a glass cabinet at Hogwarts. We walked past it during the tour we gave you.”  
“Yes I remember several glass cases,” Spencer said. “We didn't actually have a chance to stop and examine what was in them though.”  
“Just awards for services to the school, the Quidditch cup and the house cup, along with several other things,” said Harry not mentioning his award for services rendered to Hogwarts.  
“So do you accept being godfathers?” asked Ginny getting back to the original subject.  
“Well I don't know,” Hotch said looking undecided. “I'm not sure how much I would be actually able to visit them with how busy I am.”   
“Well, when they are older they could always visit you,” Harry suggested. “It would be no trouble to ask Dobby to transport them to your place.”  
“Well, okay,” Hotch decided feeling honored that Harry had asked him even though they didn't know each other very well, but Harry was apparently a good judge of character and knew he was an honorable man that would do his best. Besides this was a way to get to know each other better and tie their two families closer together, which might be some of the reasons for the decision come to think of it and if it had been it was a very clever thing to do as it would ensure that their two families would always remain close no matter what.  
“All we expect from you, is for you to love them like they were your own. They're going to be spoiled enough with Molly as their grandmother not to mention all their aunts, uncles and cousins.”  
“They will be spoiled with love as well as material possessions,” Ginny said. “The Weasleys have always been a very close family and have always loved each other no matter what. We even accepted Percy the prat back into the family after he abandoned us just as the war was really starting thinking he was doing the right thing by walking away and working for Fudge and then Scrimgeour. We all forgave him in the end for abandoning the family when we should've all stuck together.”  
“The Weasleys might love him and have forgiven him, and I can understand why they did since they are his family, but I will never like him and haven't from the first time we met. To me Percy has a stick up his ass and believes in rules so much that he follows them even from someone who is corrupt or when they don't make sense. He's very stiff and proper and he even wrote a letter in Ron's and our fifth year to his brother that told him that he should stop being my friend, because I was deranged and dangerous. He's always gone along with other authority figures opinions without bothering to think for himself and how he can be like that while the rest of the family is warm and loving I don't know.”  
“Sounds like you're carrying a grudge, which isn't very healthy you know,” said Spencer.  
“I'm not carrying a grudge,” Harry denied shaking his head from side to side in denial. “If he got himself in trouble I would still go and help him if I could. I don't have to like someone to do that, although I wouldn't do it for his sake I would do it for his family's. Really my main complaint against Percy's abandonment of his family in a time that they could've used him the most is the fact that I never really had a family at all until I met the Weasleys as the Dursleys don't count. I would do anything for them, as to me having a family that loves me is everything and Percy at that time just didn't realize how lucky he was to have a family that would take him back even after all he had done.”  
“People make decisions and they are not always good ones, but this is the way that we learn,” Hotch said softly, knowing this very well not only thanks to his job, but also because Haley had made the decision that she wanted a divorce because he was gone so much. It might not have been the best decision as it hurt, him and Jack and probably Haley as well, but it had been done all the same.   
“Percy, really is so self-absorbed that he doesn't realize how much he has hurt his entire family with his actions,” said Ginny softly. “I'll admit he has gotten better, since he came back and apologized to the family for his actions and since then we have accepted him back, but that doesn't mean that all the family has forgiven him. Fred and George are always playing pranks on him, even more then is normal for them to do that to one of their siblings, I avoid him as much as possible and Ron has made it plain that he'd rather face a giant spider then be in the same room with him and since my brother hates and fears spiders with a passion that is really saying something. We will always love him, but his actions doing the war hurt all of us, although they hurt mom and dad the most, which is the main reason we are all still pretty disgusted with him, even over a decade later.”  
“And yes, we realize that people don't always make the best of decisions since we are human and humans make mistakes,” said Harry, “but Percy had plenty of chances to come back and mend the rift that he had created and yet he didn't see how much his actions hurt everyone until right before the very last battle. One of the reasons most of the family has never really forgiven him is because he has never really apologized for what he did. His actions were something a Slytherin might pull, but that are reprehensible for a Gryffindor who value loyalty and honor.”  
“My brother might have been a Gryffindor, but he should have been a Slytherin instead,” Ginny snorted. “His excuse for separating from his family was that we should follow the ministry and not Dumbledore and we should have nothing to do with Harry at all. He claimed that both were attention seeking liars and were trying to make trouble by causing the wizarding population to stop listening to the ministry. Fudge didn't want to admit that Voldemort was back and so buried his head in the sand about the whole thing. Fudge did his best when Harry was fifteen to drag both his and Dumbledore's names through the mud in the Daily Prophet, which is our newspaper.”  
“He gave Voldemort a whole year to recruit and plan instead of enlarging the budget so that more Aurors could be hired and trained. He allowed Voldemort to gain more of a toehold then he would otherwise have had,” Harry said. “People died that might have lived if he'd only done the right thing from the beginning.”  
“There are a lot of things Fudge could've done, but he didn't want to admit that Voldemort was back, which I can understand since he did terrorize the wizarding world for a number of years before he was supposedly killed,” Ginny said, “but that doesn't make it right.”  
Harry snorted. “Fudge was a coward and Scrimgeour who took over after wasn't much better. Scrimgeour wasn't a coward, but he still lied to the wizarding public and said that everything was fine. He arrested people that had nothing to do with Voldemort, people who were just innocent citizens and then refused to release them, because he wanted to look like he was actually doing something.”  
“Well, you really are going to have to give us a more thorough wizarding history lesson at some point,” Spencer commented, “so that we can understand what was going on back then and why non-magical folks didn't really hear about it.”  
Hotch nodded in agreement with his lover's statement, but knew that now was not the time.  
“We will,” Harry assured them, “but it will take all day, maybe even more, so you will have to set a large chunk of time aside for it and now is not that time.”  
Hotch and Spencer spent a couple of hours in that hospital room leaning even more about the wizarding world then they had known before heading back home.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Lochlan and Landon 12 years old

“We've got another letter from the twins,” Spencer's exclaimed as he came out of his and Hotch's study.  
“Well go ahead and read it Uncle Spencer,” Jack said as he thundered down the stairs from his room after hearing the announcement.  
“Why don't we all go into the family room and get comfortable before Spencer opens the letter,” Hotch suggested and everybody nodded trooping into the den.  
Once everybody was comfortable Spencer opened the letter from the twins and read it quickly before he started speaking around.

Dear family,

We hope all of you are doing well. As for Lochlan and I we are doing very well even though classes are getting more difficult this year, which really is to be expected. I heard that the O.W.L.s are tough when you take them at the end of fifth-year and that the N.E.W.T.s even worse. Apparently, they're called nastily exhausting for a reason. Still O.W.L.s are years away and right now Landon and I are concentrating on learning as much as we can while making some very good friends.  
Our friends are Grey, short for Greyson Owens, who is a half-blood, like Uncle Harry and Michelle Bones who is the great-niece of the head of magical law enforcement Amelia Bones and pureblooded. I am told that the Boneses have a tradition of being Hufflepuffs and that Michelle is the very first one to break that tradition, which shocked her mother and aunt, but not her father, since he was a Ravenclaw. I was told by Michelle herself that her father was absolutely ecstatic that his daughter had gotten into the same house as he had been in.  
Once her mother and aunt and gotten over the shock they were also very proud of her to.  
Apparently a lot of old pureblood families share similar traits and end up being in the same house as their parents and grandparents before them all the way back to when their family lines began. Of course Lochlan and I have also found out that you can ask the Sorting Hat to put you in a different house if you feel that the house it picks for you isn't one you want. Some people apparently have more personality traits and will do well in more than one house.  
Anyway, my twin and I are going to try out for the Quidditch team and Art already offered to loan us his broom for the tryouts. If we do well we really will need brooms of our own, so we hope you agree to get us brooms because we can't study all the time and Quidditch is about the only way to break up the monotony around here, especially in winter, well other then stealing some time with your girlfriend or boyfriend if you happen to have one and getting into trouble.  
Flying is apparently a Potter family talent as they all appear to be some of the best flyers around and seem to have a natural talent for it. Harry told us that he made the Quidditch team in his first year and that is very unusual, especially since he had never been on a broom before than. Also his father James Potter was apparently quite good as well, at least from what Harry knows of him. Normally most first years have never been on a broom or if they have they aren't good enough to get on the Quidditch team, if they even bother to try out thanks to that no broom rule for students in their first year.  
That rule has been known to be wavered if a first year is discovered to be really good on a broom and wants to join the Quidditch team, like it was for Uncle Harry.  
In any case I hope you don't mind if we try out for the Quidditch team as Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and Art seem to think we are pretty good. I suppose all that training that we did when we spent time with the Potters has paid off and everyone seems to think that we will be shoo-ins and are better then the Chasers that are currently playing for Ravenclaw.  
In other news although I'm sure that Loch would disagree I believe he has a little crush on our friend Michelle, although he would never admit it, but the sappy looks he keeps throwing in her direction when he thinks nobody is watching say otherwise.

The three adults in the room laughed at the the fact that Lochlan at twelve was beginning to notice girls, but then Spencer continued reading.

I believe the feeling is mutual as I've seen Michelle look at my brother with a very weird look on her face more than once, again when she believes no one is looking. I wonder how that will turn out in the end?  
In any case that is all the news for now.

Love,  
Landon

“So are you going to let him try out for the Quidditch team?” asked Sara. “It sounds like a very dangerous game from what you've told me.”   
“Yes,” Spencer said after looking at Hotch and then thinking about it for a moment. “It is dangerous, but they can also heal any broken bones in an instant as their form of medicine is much more advanced in some ways then our own. They can heal a lot of injuries that would disable somebody without magic or kill them outright.”  
“And can they be used on somebody that doesn't have magic?” asked Sara.   
“Yes, I believe so,” Spencer said after a moment, “but from what I know most magical folks won't go out of their way to help somebody that doesn't have the ability to do what they can even if they are connected to the wizarding world through their children or parents. In some ways their society is a lot like our own in the fact that they are very prejudiced against anybody different from themselves.”  
“Their society as a whole has improved a lot,” Hotch said, “as Harry told us all about what it was like before Voldemort was finally defeated.”  
“It takes time to undo thousands of years worth of prejudices,” Spencer said and Hotch nodded in agreement.  
“Yes, it does and there will always be people who think they are better than anyone else and that's not only true of witches and wizards, but for those who are non-magical like all four of us,” Hotch said using the word non-magical without any hesitation or stumbling for he had accepted completely that magic was real, that his adopted sons indeed had magic and that it was possible that he would have grandchildren with magic a few years down the road. “It is human for people to hate other people just because they are different and despite the fact that magical folks can do strange things that go against the laws of science, they are still human.”  
“I think what they do instead of going against the laws of science, some things just haven't been discovered by our scientists yet,” Spencer suggested and Hotch nodded as that made perfect sense. Breakthroughs were being made every day in the realm of science and who knew what the human race would be able to do a hundred years from now?  
“It is a very rare talent to learn to think outside the box if you know what I mean,” Spencer said. “A lot of people just don't have that kind of imagination and the ones that do are often discredited.”  
“You're right,” Hotch agreed that he had seen such things happen before and a lot of times the paper was filled with stories about people thought to be crazy when really they were just brilliant, but unrecognized for that fact, just because they didn't conform to what other people considered normal.  
“Well, I suppose I had better go start dinner,” Sara said finally after a few minutes of silence. “I'm glad the boys are doing so well, but I still miss them.”   
“So do we,” Spencer told Sara, “but Harry was right and their talent needed to be trained so that it doesn't erupt when their emotions are high. When they finally graduate in a few years they'll be all grown up and I have to admit I hate missing those years when they're still teenagers, but we still get to see them in the summer and during Christmas, so that is something anyway.”  
“And they write frequently which helps,” Hotch said and Sara and Spencer nodded in agreement. “At least we know they are doing well and Harry would contact us if something were to happen. Besides it's no different than thousands of parents around the world who send their children to a year around boarding school, except that they are learning magic, potions and the history of the magical world, instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic.”  
“That makes sense put like that,” Sara said as she headed towards the kitchen to start dinner. “Still parents that can do that to their children and not see them every day are tougher than I am because I never could have done that to any of my kids when they were growing up as I love them to much. It was hard enough when they were all grown up and moved out to live on there own.”  
Spencer and Hotch nodded in agreement for they knew that the day was coming for their own three not so very far in the future.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Lochlan and Landon age 13

Dear Spencer and Aaron

I just wanted to let you know how your godsons are doing. They're growing like weeds every day. It doesn't seem like a year and a half has passed since they were born for it has gone much faster then either Ginny or I anticipated, but then again the twins are keeping us busy.  
Both Ginny and I wish that you could see them more often although we understood when we made you the godparents that with your job Aaron that probably wasn't going to be possible. In any case one of the reasons I am writing to you is to let you know that the twins have shown their first bit of magic or at least the first in front of witnesses. It is unusual to show magic at such a young age as most magical children are at least three or four before they begin to show the signs and Minerva, Ginny and I agree that this means that they are going to be very powerful, more then is average.  
In any case they have gone from crawling to walking in what seems a matter of a few weeks as time seems to have been passing much faster than it should just because we are all so busy.  
Another reason that I decided to write this letter to you was to tell you that we are considering having at least one more although it has yet to be determined.  
When I was living with my aunt and uncle all I wished for was a family of my own, especially when I discovered that I was the last of the Potters, since I didn't want my family line to die out. I've always dreamed of having at least eight or nine children, especially since I have plenty of money to support them. It is well possible for Ginny to have another half a dozen children since witches can have babies up until their mid-sixties unlike muggles who usually can't have them past forty-five or so, although I know it is unusual to have them so old. Our researchers believe that it is the magic in our bodies and allows witches to have healthy babies up until their mid 60s and also why we live at least twice as long as those without magic and in some cases three times as long, depending on the size of your magical core.  
It's true that Ginny and I were happy with the three we had, but when my wife forgot to take her contraception potion we remembered the joy that raising a baby brings to your life, even if they are also a lot work.  
Ginny and I haven't fully decided if that's the route we're going to take after the twins are a little older, but I just wanted to let you know that it is a very real possibility and we're swinging in that direction.  
If we do have another it will be our last one as birth is hard and although Ginny truly loves children, like her mother, she told me that if we did decide to have another one there would be no more. I believe if we do go in that direction that we're both hoping for girl this time for we have plenty of sons but only one daughter. Unfortunately the Weasley genes tend to produce only sons and it's been that way for generations as Ginny was the first girl to be born in about 600 years, according to family history, which is rather well documented, well at least until Ron and Bill both had daughters.

Spencer whistled at that and Hotch stopped reading looking shocked.   
“If Harry is telling the truth there hasn't been a girl born into the Weasley family until his wife,” Hotch said.  
“He has no reason to lie,” Spencer pointed out. “I'm sure he's telling the truth at least as he knows it.”  
“I know,” Hotch said, “It's not that I think he's lying just that I'm just thinking that the odds are against anybody having just boys especially if they have more than one or two at the most. If all the Weasleys had 4 or 5 children for the last 600 years and they turned out all to be boys the odds of that happening must be 1,000,000,000 to 1.”  
“Yes,” Spencer agreed, “although I can't give you the exact odds. Anyway what else does Harry have to say?”  
“Well, let's see,” Hotch said looking back at the letter and finding his spot near the bottom.

“In any case to change the subject were hoping that your family can come visit us doing the summer for at least a couple of weeks so we can all get to know each other better. We can do some sightseeing of muggle and magical sites. The children are always asking when you are going to visit as they enjoy your company and I keep telling them when you can get away, which isn't always easy as Ginny and I know very well.  
I'm sure you've discovered by now that Ginny I have included some photographs of the whole family including the twins who are much bigger than the last time you saw them so now I'll close this letter with saying that we'll hope to see you this summer and that you will always be welcome whenever you can get away to visit.

Harry

PS Ginny says hi.

PSS Only your family will be able to see the photos move as they have been charmed so that to anybody else who are not a witch or wizard will see the pictures as normal photos.

“So do you think that they will decide to have another child?” Spencer asked his mate as he began to flip through the stack of photos one by one.  
“Well,” Hotch said thinking about it, while also looking at the photos as Spencer flipped through them. “I don't believe that Harry would have written us a letter about it if it wasn't at least a very strong possibility.”  
“Yes, I agree,” Spencer nodded. “They aren't the type of people to bring it up if they weren't seriously considering it. Really they remind me of us in that way, as we're both very private people and they seem to be that way as well. I believe that the only reason they have shared so much of their history with us is because we are family.”  
Hotch nodded for he agreed completely. Harry wasn't one to brag about his accomplishments or to tell his history to just anyone, especially since a lot of it had to be very painful for him to recall.  
“Aren't Fabian and Gideon just adorable?” Spencer asked as he admired the pictures with his and Hotch's godsons in them.  
“Yes,” Hotch agreed his expression wistful as he studied the photos. “All the Potter male children are getting very handsome and Lily is absolutely adorable.”  
“She looks almost exactly like a mother except for the green eyes so she'll be a knockout when she gets a few years older,” Spencer said. “I'm sure she's going to have the boys clamoring for her attention in a few years.”  
“And we'll just have to see how Harry handles that,” Hotch said laughing at that thought. “Will he be the overprotective type or one that can let his daughter date without making a big deal out of it.”  
“Well see,” said Spencer smiling. “It'll be another three or four years before she's even thinks about boys since she's only 11.”  
“Well since we are on our own tonight why don't we go out to eat?” Hotch suggested.   
“Alright,” Spencer agreed immediately knowing it wasn't something they did two often thanks to Hotch's job and looking after the family. “I'll buy a couple of frames for two of those pictures tomorrow. I think the picture with the whole family and another one with Fabian and Gideon should take pride of place beside the other pictures on the mantelpiece in the den, don't you?”  
“Yes, that is a great idea,” Hotch said by way of agreement leaning over just enough to give Spencer a kiss on the cheek. “Now why don't you and I go get dressed up a little as I'd like to take you someplace nicer then where we normally go.”  
“Sounds good,” Spencer said. He had long since lost his apprehension at going out in public or trying new places just as long as Aaron Hotchner was at his side. With his mate at his side he was confident in himself and it was only when he was on his own that he began to get nervous in large crowds.  
The two men rose from the sofa in the den and holding hands headed upstairs to change for their night out.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Dear family,

We won! We won! We won our first Quidditch match of the year and thanks for the great brooms by the way.  
We understand why you couldn't be here to see us play thanks to the time difference between Scotland and America.  
I scored 10 goals all unassisted while Landon scored seven and we won by a score of 370 points to 110 for Slytherin. And no there were no injuries, well, besides a dislocated shoulder where the Bludger hit it, but Madam Pomfrey healed that in an instant.  
By the way Landon and I were wondering if we could invite Michelle over for at least part of the summer holiday and Grey to if their parents agree of course. We want you to meet them as they really are our two best friends, next to Art.  
Let us know your answer as soon as you can.

Love,  
Lochlan

“Well, that was certainly a very short letter,” Sara said who had been listening from the doorway, “more of a note really. So are you going to give a positive answer to have in their two friends over for a week or two?”  
“Yes,” Spencer answered after looking at Aaron who nodded. “Their letters are filled with mentions of both of them and I for one I really like to meet the two of them since the twins have never had a best friend before, much less two. I'm not saying they haven't had some friends just not one that they were really close to.”  
“Yes,” said Hotch. “Them finding such good friends is good as I always worried about the fact that they didn't have any. Not ones that you do everything together anyway or that you can depend on.”  
“It's probably at least partly their intelligence that has set them apart,” Spencer said. “I know they haven't been bullied like I was, but that's probably only because they know how to defend themselves now and also the fact that they're far more outgoing than I could ever hope to be.”  
“Yes, kids can be cruel especially to anyone who they consider different and being extremely intelligent is often looked down upon by children who are not as smart,” Hotch agreed.  
“I know that it doesn't help that they have always been taught to do their best in school and not to hide their intelligence or slack off just to fit in with those who don't care about their futures.”  
“No, that wouldn't have helped them make friends,” Hotch said, “but at least they had each other and Jack and so weren't alone.”  
“Unlike I was,” said Spencer as he remembered all the times he had been shoved into lockers, by teenagers who didn't appreciate having someone much younger and more intelligent then them showing off or even being there at all. Unfortunately those memories weren't something that he would ever forget considering that his memory was eidetic.  
Hotch looked murderous at Spencer's comment and Spencer knew it wasn't towards him that Aaron was so angry, but towards the bullies who had made his live such a living hell when he had been growing up and also towards his father for not being their to support him and encourage him.  
Aaron Hotchner wasn't the type to normally lose his cool, but when it came to him, Spencer Reid he was very overprotective, which made him feel good as well as loved and protected. Anytime the subject of his childhood was brought up he looked furious. Spencer knew that his Aaron wanted to go find every single one of those people who made his life miserable, including his father and teach them a lesson that they wouldn't soon forget and even if he would never actually do so the feelings could not be ignored.  
Spencer actually thought it was very sweet and adorable that Aaron was very overprotective of him and anybody that was mean to him he wanted to beat up, but then again Aaron Hotchner was an alpha male, a leader and this was normal behavior for them, defending someone they loved while he, Spencer Reid was not the alpha male type, which was fine with him as he knew that Aaron never would have been attracted to someone who was likely to challenge his authority.  
“My childhood wasn't fun,” Spencer admitted, “but you know this. Think about it though, compared to Harry's mine was a walk in the park. How Harry turned out as well as he did I don't know.”  
Aaron nodded in agreement for what Spencer said was true. Harry had finally told them the full story behind the defeat of Lord Voldemort and he had gone all the way back to his miserable childhood to do it. In fact Harry had shown parts of it in what he had called a Pensieve, which was almost like watching a movie, except the memories had come directly out of Harry's head and plopped into a silver bowl that had been covered in runes. Harry had stirred to silvery strands that were his memories with the tip of his wand and then tapped one of the runes on the side of the bowl. Aaron remembered how he and Spencer had watched in fascination as a scene had risen out of the bowl slowly until it was fully formed just above the surface and once it had it had started playing the scene from the beginning, complete with sound.  
He and Spencer had watched how Harry was treated by his aunt and uncle, which had made Hotch want to go hunt down Harry's relatives and teach them a lesson. They had seen how Harry had gotten his letter and then been sorted into Gryffindor and started to make friends with Ron and Hermione. They saw how he had figured out the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets and how at just 12 years old he'd defeated the basilisk, that must have been at least 80 feet long, which could've killed him if he had ever looked directly into that huge snake eyes, well before Fawkes the phoenix blinded it, and all to rescue the girl that was now his wife. They had seen how Harry, Ron and Hermione had figured out that Sirius Black was innocent and how it was later revealed that Harry's godfather had been thrown in prison without a trial, by a corrupt ministry.  
They had seen how Harry had been forced to compete in the Triwizard tournament when his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, even though it was obvious that Harry had not entered his name at all and yet they claimed that it was a binding magical contract, even though it wasn't Harry who had entered. It was pretty obvious as the memory was played that somebody had entered his name hoping to get him killed and instead he had faced Lord Voldemort yet another time and instead of him dying the other Hogwarts champion Cedric had. All those misadventures didn't even include Harry's memories of how he had been almost tortured by Snape, picked on and belittled from his very first lesson and all because Harry looked like his father. James Potter and Severus Snape had been enemies from their first day at Hogwarts according to Harry who had learned this from Remus Lupin his father and godfather's old friend.  
There had been a lot memories all the way through Harry's seventh year and Hotch thought that he had never seen such bravery even in an adult much less a child who seemed to have the strongest will to survive that he had ever seen. Hotch now fully admitted that Harry was one of the most selfless people he had ever met and didn't seem to want anything other then to be happy with a wife and family of his own. All he really wanted was to be left alone to live his life, without the people of the magical community bothering him, staring at him or following him wherever he went.  
“Yes,” Hotch said slowly, “I agree. To me and you, Harry is a walking, breathing miracle. It goes against all odds how he turned out so well. He should be bitter, hateful, acting like he owns the world and rude to everybody he meets and instead what do we have?”   
“One of the nicest people you'll ever meet who goes out of his way to help others,” Spencer answered with an amazed shake of his head. “Someone who sees a wrong and tries to help correct it. Someone who cares about everybody, not just himself.”  
“Someone who is willing to fight and die for what he believes in, especially if it will protect those he loves and cares about,” Hotch added and Spencer nodded in agreement.  
“Someone who loves his friends and family unconditionally, no matter their faults, although it won't stop him from turning them into the authorities if they break the law,” Spencer added.  
“Someone who has an unerring sense of right and wrong and never chooses to take the easy way out,” Hotch added.  
The two men fell silent for a minute but when Spencer spoke his voice was almost awed. “Someone who is humble and doesn't like to be the center of attention, or rewarded even if he deserves it.”  
“I have to admit that Harry Potter is something of an enigma,” Hotch said after thinking about all he knew about the young man that was only a couple of years older then Spencer.  
“Perhaps he just comes from good genes,” Spencer suggested. “Both his parents were apparently very brave and willing to die to protect their son and that kind of sacrifice tends to leave an invisible mark on you even if you aren't consciously aware of it.”  
“Yes, I suppose that would explain part of it,” Hotch admitted, “and the rest of it probably comes from that fact that the rest of the wizarding world expected him to save them from Voldemort and to have that kind of pressure put on someone makes that person start to believe it and children, especially are very impressionable.”  
“And the populace didn't even know about the prophecy that Harry told us about,” said Spencer.  
Hotch snorted at that. “I don't believe in prophecies. I don't believe that some people are able to predict the future and yet their predictions come out as riddles that are not really clear except in hindsight.”  
“I agree with you,” Spencer said, “and you know that Harry does as well. Remember he told us that...” Here Spencer closed his eyes for a moment and Hotch knew that he was pulling Harry's exact words from the depths of his perfect memory “...I don't have to believe in the prophecy, the point is that Voldemort believes it or at least the part that he knows. I knew that he would keep coming after me and not just me, but my family and friends so if that means that I am this 'chosen one' then so be it, for I knew that I would have to keep fighting. If I gave up then not only would I die, but so would those I loved and to me that was unacceptable and so was letting Voldemort destroy not only magical England, but eventually the world.”  
Spencer's brown eyes opened as soon as he finished speaking and looked at his lover. “I'm not sure I could have survived all Harry has been through or at least not sane. I'm glad I never met his headmaster Albus Dumbledore for I would be very tempted to sock him in the nose. It really is largely his fault that Harry went through everything he did. I know that all that blame can't be placed on his shoulders, but he is totally responsible for leaving him with his abusive aunt and uncle. I mean the man didn't even bother to check up on Harry to see that he was loved and doing well and from what we've been told he could have done that and the Dursleys never had to know he was there since he could make himself invisible. I mean it is only common sense to check up on the child you placed there periodically until you are sure they are alright and yes Harry's mother Lily was apparently the complete opposite of her sister, but Dumbledore was warned that they were the worst sorts of muggles to raise a child by two people who knew what Petunia was like and yet he didn't listen. You know me I'm not usually prone to violence, but what Dumbledore did to that poor child, by leaving him with his abusive relatives, by not telling him about his heritage, by putting the weight of the world on his shoulders, but not bothering to train him to actually survive his inevitable confrontation with pure evil. He should have been arrested for child abuse, child neglect, child endangerment and if it was actually punishable by law complete idiocy.”  
It wasn't very often that Hotch saw his mate get upset like this and Spencer had been furious at the time he had been told all about Harry's life up until he had been 18 and had quite a few things to say to him then as well that he kept to himself until they were alone in their room at Potter Manor as he hadn't wanted to upset Harry by venting his feelings in front of him.  
“You knew then that I agreed with everything you said to me in anger back when we were first told just as I agree with your feelings now,” Hotch said gently putting an arm around Spencer's waist and pulling him close not sounding at all ruffled about how Spencer was ranting at him and that was because he knew that Spencer's anger wasn't directed at him, but at the idiots who had put so much on a child's shoulders, prophecy or not.  
“I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell at you Aaron,” Spencer said looking incredibly sheepish. “I know it isn't your fault for how Harry was treated and here I was yelling at you.”  
“Hey, don't apologize, you can vent at me anytime you want as it isn't good to keep those feeling all bottled up you know, you taught me that. Besides I know your anger isn't directed at me, but at those idiots who put so much on the shoulders of a defenseless child and left him in a home where he was unwanted and unloved,” Hotch said. “Believe me I share every single one of your feelings and just the thought of Jack or the twins in such an environment makes my blood boil as it does for any child in such a situation.”  
“You're the best,” Spencer told him and leaned over just enough to give Hotch a very passionate kiss on the lips.  
“Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin are really pieces of work and I am still astonished that they were never reported to child services for the abuse of their nephew. Child services should've been down on the whole family like a jackhammer. I mean come on Harry wearing those to big clothes that were at least three sizes too big for him should have been the first clue that something was horribly wrong.”  
“Yes, I agree,” Spencer said shaking his head. “How Harry fell through the cracks of the system that is specifically designed to protect children, especially when it was so obvious that something was wrong I don't have a clue.”  
“Well, it did happen England and not America,” Hotch pointed out. “Things are different over there.”   
“But not that different,” Spencer argued. “Yes, I know it's a monarchy over there and not democratic, but there are still child endangerment laws very similar to our own. I mean from what Harry has told us he lived in a good neighborhood, so people should have noticed that something was wrong and instead all the neighbors accepted the Dursleys lies that he went to a school for criminal boys.” Spencer snorted in derision at that. “Come on! It was so clear that he was crying out for help and nobody bothered. I mean are you telling me that no one noticed that all he did was chores and more chores and never had a chance just to be a child? Much less get in trouble? Or that he wore clothes three or four sizes to big for him? The very idea is ludicrous unless they're all as dumb as rocks.”  
“Or just didn't care,” Hotch suggested softly agreeing with Spencer completely and knowing exactly where he was coming from.   
“I could understand some of the people of the neighborhood feeling like that, but all of them?” Spencer said looking incredulous.  
“Yes, it would seem to be almost impossible for the whole neighborhood to just ignore Harry as if he didn't exist,” Hotch had to agree.  
“And yet it happened,” Spencer said shaking his head in disgust. “How can a whole neighborhood of people be so unfeeling that they ignore a little boy's, then a young teenager's silent cries for help? How could Dumbledore have put a toddler into such a situation in the first place? Harry clothes should have been the first clue for god's sakes that something was rotten in the Dursley household and yet all the neighbors just accepted that Harry was a budding criminal instead of trying to find out the truth.”  
“I think,” Hotch said slowly thinking back to some of the conversations he'd had with Harry, “that Harry never went far from the street he actually lived on, so it was just people in the immediate vicinity of Privet Drive, say no more then a mile, maybe two.”  
“Alright so maybe it wasn't the whole neighborhood, but that's still a lot of people and at least one of them should have noticed his situation,” Spencer said, “and reported it.”  
“I believe Harry told us that the Squib Mrs. Figg did as she lived on the same street as him and in fact just a few doors down, at Dumbledore's request to look after Harry and yet if she reported his neglect he ignored those reports.”  
“You know it's a good thing, that Albus Dumbledore is dead, or I'd hunt him down and teach him what it's like to be abused for your whole life, to be denied your heritage, to be ignored and mistreated...” Spencer paused then sighed the anger running out of him like water through a crack. “I suppose that it's just as well that Dumbledore is no longer among the living for I wouldn't want to be put on trial for murder.”  
“If you could even get near him as he was supposedly a very powerful wizard and you're not,” Hotch pointed out although he was also smiling at the image that Spencer's words had put in his mind.  
“Yes, well, I suppose that's another reason is just as well that he is beyond any mortal retribution, although I hope he's getting what he deserves now that he's dead. What he did under the supposed moniker of the 'greater good' makes me feel all slimy and in need of a nice long, hot shower and I'm not even sure that would do any good. I'm not saying Dumbledore was totally evil like Voldemort just that he focused so much on Harry supposedly growing up too defeat him that he took actions that were not his to take like putting him with his relatives and sealing his parents will, so that it wouldn't be discovered who they had named as guardians.”  
“Yes, if what Harry found out is correct Sirius Black his godfather was supposed to look after him if anything happened to them and if he had been allowed to take Harry and raise him he never would've ended up in Azkaban and he'd likely still be alive today,” Hotch said shaking his head. “Harry did say that his godfather had always been impulsive and that his father was like a brother to him and when he and his wife were killed he went after the traitor since he couldn't take care of Harry. If Dumbledore hadn't stuck his long nose into the situation Harry would've grown up in a happy home although I suppose there's no point in discussing it now. I just hope that Kingsley will stop anybody from having so much power like Dumbledore did again. Dumbledore had so much power that he lost sight of the fact that people need freedom of choice and don't like being manipulated like some kind of puppets.”  
“Well, you know what Baron John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once said,” Spencer said in a much calmer tone of voice then he had been using previously. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. In other words nobody should have so much power that they can control people just because they are greatly respected, loved, adored or in some cases feared. When somebody is respected or adored to much people think that they can never make mistakes and tend to forget that they are human, with human weaknesses.” Spencer shook his head as he thought about all his distant cousin had gone through all because of one man. “Thank you for listening to me rant,” Spencer added after a moment leaning over to kiss Hotch on the cheek. “I feel better now and you're right when you said a few minutes ago that it's not good to keep negative feelings all bottled up.”  
“You're welcome,” Hotch said giving Spencer's hand a squeeze. “I know there's nothing we can do about the situation now since Harry's all grown up, but if only we had known back then what we do now.”   
“It wouldn't have done any good since I'm a couple years younger than he is,” Spencer said with his first smile of the evening. “Harry says that the situation has improved and Kingsley has put through laws so that an orphaned child should not be put into such a situation again. It was one of the first things Kingsley did when he became Minister of Magic.”  
“Yes, Harry said that when Kingsley found out what his childhood had really been like he was furious, but he wasn't about to confront Dumbledore and perhaps have his memories erased so he waited until he had the power to do something. That was probably smart,” Hotch admitted. “Kingsley is smart enough to realize that the abuse Harry suffered but is not an isolated incident and some wizarding families do the same thing to supposedly keep their children in line, although it's not always the parents who are abusive.”  
“Yeah, but getting people to report it especially the children…”  
“No system is perfect,” Hotch said philosophically. “What happens in the wizarding world happens in the normal one too and not every case of child abuse his caught.”  
“Yes, I know it's somewhere around 60 or so percent and that's just for neglect not for other types of abuse, like physical,” Spencer said. “Children carry that abuse with them for the rest of their lives, you know and a lot of them turn bitter and hateful. Dumbledore is just damn lucky that didn't happen with Harry for it was very possible at that time that Harry could have turned into someone who was like that and if that had happened he never would have been willing to put his life on the line to defeat someone like Voldemort. You would think someone who was as smart as Dumbledore supposedly was would have been more careful with someone who was supposed to defeat such an evil, experienced villain.”  
“Just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you have any common sense,” Hotch commented. “Or perhaps it was just because he had too many irons in the fire so to speak. He took on too much. In other words he let the littler things slip through the cracks.”  
“You're probably right,” Spencer conceded, “but now I'm going to do my best to put those memories that we saw in Harry's Pensieve to the back of my mind, once again, as I don't want to think about than any longer since they'll just make me furious all over again and you know how much it takes to get me really mad.”  
“What you need is a distraction,” Hotch suggested with a leer that he reserved for Spencer alone his dark brown eyes filled with lust roving up and down his lover's lithe, slim body that he hoped to have unclothed shortly.  
Spencer's pupils immediately became just pinpricks of color with a large ring of white surrounding the brown. Spencer knew that Aaron only used that expression and tone of voice for him and him alone as his lover knew it turned him on immensely.  
“We had better head upstairs then,” Spencer said immediately grabbing Hotch's hand in his and heading towards the stairs at top speed for it was obvious that his cock had reacted to his lover's tone of voice and look as there was visible bulge in the front of his pants.  
Hotch just laughed for Spencer's reaction was the one he had been hoping for and so allowed his lover to pull him upstairs to the bedroom.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Lochlan and Landon, age 14

Several months passed and Hotch and Spencer had almost forgotten all about Harry's letter since there had been no others and soon it was almost time for the twins to be home for the summer when another letter arrived.  
“Listen to this,” Spencer said as he brought the letter into the den where Hotch was sitting and watching the football game, which was a rare occurrence since normally he was gone on a case and rarely got to watch one at all as he always forgot to record them to, but thanks to Spencer's memory football games were now recorded for when he had time to watch them.  
“Who is it from?” asked Hotch as he recognized the parchment as a letter from someone in the wizarding world since they were the only ones that used it and since the only people they kept in contact with were the Potters and the twins it had to be from one of them.  
“It's from Ginny,” said Spencer as he read the entire contents of the letter in just a few seconds.  
“Well, what does Ginny have to say?” asked Hotch.   
Spencer sat down beside his lover and curled up into his side he began to read.

Dear Aaron, Spencer, and family,

I just thought I'd write this letter to you to let you know that I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant! I know that Harry wrote you a letter several months ago to let you know that we were considering the possibility, but it hadn't been fully decided upon at that time. I know that you were excited to find out that we were considering having another child and now there will be one more in our now combined family, although whether it is a boy or girl, we are not yet sure of at this point, but this will be the last one.  
As much as Harry and I both love children, giving birth is not exactly a walk in the park even if you have a couple years rest between each child and carrying more than one is even worse, what with nausea, strange food urges, back aches, feeling like a beached whale the further along you are and everything that goes along with pregnancy.  
I have a healer's appointment at St. Mungo's next week and will let you know how that goes and what the healer has to say, although at this stage it would be impossible to tell what sex we are having, since I believe I am only about a month or a month and a half along.  
As you can guess both mom and dad were very excited when Harry and I told them that I was pregnant once again as both of them truly love children which is the reason they decided to have so many.   
Mum is particularly nervous with excitement as she can't wait to hold get another grandchild in her arms, although I think she would prefer for it to be Charlie's, but he seems determined to stay a bachelor for the rest of his life, not it is anything wrong with that so long as he's happy, although mum disagrees. (Imagine eye roll here) 

Spencer and Aaron snorted at that. They both knew that Molly Weasley was something of a busybody and extremely bossy trying to rule her children's lives, even now that they were all grown up with lives of their own. So what if the second oldest Weasley son wasn't married? Why did it matter so long as he was content and happy with his life as it was. Not everybody wanted to marry or have children and Charlie just happened to be one who was perfectly content being single and their was nothing wrong with that.

You would think 17 grandchildren, 18 with this newest one between all seven children would be plenty for anybody, but mum wouldn't mind having 30 or 40 to spoil rotten.  
Both Harry and I are hoping for another girl this time as I'm sure you are aware of from Harry's letter a few months ago. Unfortunately the Weasleys and Potters both have been known for producing boys instead of girls, although there are at least a few girls in the Potter family tree in the last five or six hundred years even if there are many more males then females.  
I hope when this baby is finally born that the two of you can come and see him or her at St. Mungo's, although that is still months away I know.  
Harry and I just want you to know that we consider you, the twins, Jack and Sara as part of our family now and my husband and I both agree that you can never have to much family. Family has always been important to the Weasleys and we aren't ones to just throw you out on the street if you are suddenly bitten by a werewolf for example, unlike some families would. Our family motto has always been family first, always and that was one of the reasons why the prat, also known as Percival Ignatius Weasley was accepted back into the family fold.  
I'll write you again after my healer's appointment next week. 

Sincerely,  
Ginny

“Well it looks like another son or daughter will soon be joining the Potter family,” Spencer said as he put the letter down on the coffee table that was in front of the couch.  
“Yes, but Ginny and Harry have both agreed that there won't be anymore after this,” Hotch said, “Personally I think that six children are more then enough even if three of those are well on their way to being grown up.”  
“I can certainly understand your point of view, but then again there aren't many people I've actually met that truly love children and would love to have a dozen or so if they could afford to,” Spencer said. “Harry and Ginny are perfectly matched in that way since both would truly love as many children as possible to love and spoil. Harry's that way at least partly I'm sure because he grew up without a family of his own, ones that actually shared his blood and no I'm not counting his aunt and cousin considering how he was abused by them and his uncle.”  
Hotch nodded for what Spencer said was perfectly logical.  
“And Ginny probably loves children just because she got that love from her parents,” Hotch suggested and Spencer nodded in agreement. “Her mother and father truly love children which is why they had seven and our childhood has a great deal of affect on we grow up to be as adults.”  
“And why do I have a feeling that if they'd had another boy as number seven they would have kept trying until they got to girl?” asked Spencer his brown eyes sparkling mischievously.  
“Because you know from what Ginny has told us that her parents always wanted at least one girl?” Hotch suggested with a grin of his own.  
Spencer laughed at that, but also nodded in agreement. “You're absolutely right.”

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several months later another letter from the Potters arrived and as soon as the box that sat on his desk had finished glowing Hotch who was working in his study opened the lid. The magical box at the Potters had given them in order to receive letters from their sons while they were at Hogwarts always glowed for a few seconds whenever something arrived in the box and also when you were sending a letter as well.  
Hotch read the letter quickly, although not as quickly as his lover could have done it, but when he got to one part his eyes widened in astonishment and then he got up and headed out to find Spencer.  
“Another letter?” asked Spencer as soon as he saw the parchment in Hotch's hand. “Who is it from? The twins? Or one of the Potters?”  
“It's from Harry,” Hotch confirmed as he sat down next to Spencer on the couch in the den reading a book.  
“Well what does it say?” asked Spencer as he put the book he had been reading aside not bothering to mark his place.

Dear, Spencer and Aaron,

Just wanted to let you know that Ginny had another healer's appointment today and what we found has astonished both of us. Both Ginny and I thought that her belly was looking awfully big for just a single baby considering she is only about four months along and has another five to go. Ginny and I agreed that she was at least double the size of when we had James, Albus and Lily and even bigger than when we had Fabian and Gideon and we thought perhaps it was another set of twins, which while it would be unusual was not an impossible possibility.  
Once the healer examined Ginny though and did several spells it was discovered that it's not just twins, but triplets, and from the looks of things so far fraternal as the healer is positive that there is at least one girl and one boy although we're not sure of the sex of the third one since he or she is hiding behind the other two.  
Triplets are extremely rare and both Ginny and I were absolutely shocked to the core as we expected a single baby or perhaps twins again, but triplets are so rare in and both the magical and muggle worlds that we never even thought of it as a possibility.

“Triplets?” asked Spencer in astonishment.  
“Triplets,” Hotch confirmed, “and believe me I was just as shocked the first time I read the letter a few minutes ago before I brought it to you. Not many people have triplets naturally as usually if a woman does have triplets it's because of pregnancy drugs, but as far as I know there's nothing like those kinds of drugs that speed up your ovulation in the wizarding world so it's most likely natural.”  
“But to have twins and then just a couple years later triplets the odds of that must be at least 500,000 to 1 or more,” Spencer said.  
“Probably,” Hotch agreed as he found his place in Harry's letter and continued to read.

Pick your jaws up off the floor! If your reactions are anywhere similar to Ginny's and mine when we found out.  
What we found out that Ginny was on schedule for a mid-June due date and that the babies were healthy we both went home and started doing research into the Potter family history since Ginny was sure that it must come from that side of the family as the Weasleys have never been known to produce triplets or at least as far as she knew.  
We looked at the Potter family tapestry much more closely then it has ever been studied by either of us before and discovered several sets of triplets although they were several hundred years apart and that there hadn't been any ever since my great-great-grandfather's time.  
Triplets suddenly started being born right around the time that Hogwarts was being built, which means the time of the founders and although I had already known this the Potters are directly related to Godric Gryffindor through their oldest son Tristan. Of course we don't know if their were any triplets before then, since that is as far back as is recorded for the Potter bloodline. If there were other records further back they have since been destroyed or possibly just lost. By the way it isn't exactly well-known that the Potters are related to one of the four founders so please don't say anything to anybody as I already get enough media attention as it is and if it was suddenly discovered that I was related to Godric Gryffindor me and my family would never have another moment's peace, as I'm still treated like a celebrity anytime I go out in public for my defeat of Voldemort and that was almost 20 years ago.  
We did a lot more research in the Potter Manor library and read the history of when the triplets in the family were born and we also found out that it's more likely that you'll have multiple babies if you are over thirty-five, although why that is so I don't know, but Hermione assures us that it is a fact. One or more of the triplets born centuries ago of course did not survive since medical practices were very primitive back then, although not as primitive as muggle technology.  
In any case our healer warned Ginny that she needs to be really careful and that he might be forced to put her on bed rest the farther along she gets as a precaution and I'm sure you can guess how my wife reacted to that, although she did agree to do it if it became necessary for as a healer she knows it's true, even if she doesn't like it.  
I'm afraid that both Ginny and I are terrible patients as we're just to active to enjoy staying in bed with nothing to do. I always hated laying in the hospital wing when I was in school because of some Quidditch related injury and Madam Pomfrey always kept her patients far longer then was necessary in a lot of cases or at least I always thought so.  
We'll keep you informed as to how to Ginny's pregnancy is progressing, although right now things are going well, though Ginny does say she feels like she's had around 30 or 40 extra pounds added, which is understandable because she is carrying a lot of extra weight around, right now, so it's no wonder her back is aching and that she can't see her feet even though she is only in her fourth month of pregnancy?  
The healer also warned us that multiple babies always come notoriously early and triplets usually come at about 32 weeks, although it would be good if Ginny can somehow manage to not go into labor until she's at least 35 weeks along as the longer the babies stay inside her tummy the more likely that all three will survive with fewer medical problems and lead happy, healthy and productive lives. Our medical field is advanced in a lot of ways, but in other ways we are way behind the muggles when it comes to helping to save lives. The good thing though is that magical folks seem to be hardier in most cases to muggles, even in the womb and since all three triplets are going to have magic, even if it is undeveloped, it is very likely that they will cling to life and be born healthy, we'll just have to wait and see. Besides in the years I've been part of the wizarding world I have seen many miraculous things that muggles can only dream about so I must believe that Ginny's and mine three children will be born healthy and whole for to believe anything else would drive me insane and depress me.   
Ginny says that I care to much, but I know it would upset her as well to lose any of her children including the three yet to be born, but she is also made of sterner stuff then I am, but then all the Weasleys are and although she might never get completely over the death of even one of our children she would mourn for awhile then move on. Having to kill Voldemort nearly led to my own death as I had never wanted to have to kill anyone, no matter how much it was deserved or how evil they were and it was Ginny who pulled me out of my depression and made me start to live again. I had loved her even before, Ron, Hermione and left to locate those items I told you about. My main thought before I had to go and face Voldemort was that if I survived I was going to apologize for breaking up with her in order to keep her a little safer for Voldemort would not have scrupled against using her to get to me before I was ready to face him for that final time. I was determined to ask her to marry me and yet when the deed was done all I could think about was that I had killed another human being, even if Voldemort was hardly human anymore.   
I was as depressed as a person can be and was thinking that everyone would be better off if I just killed myself, but then like an angel Ginny told me that if I had better not dare leave her. She didn't cut me any slack and told me that Voldemort had to die so that good people could live in peace and raise their families. She said that she was sorry that task had fallen to me and if Dumbledore was still alive she would give him apiece of her mind for leaving me with my relatives and for forcing me to grow up without any love and support. In any case it was then I decided, once I got over my depression, that I wasn't cut out to be an Auror and so decided to be a teacher instead and nurture young minds instead of capturing and possibly having to kill dark wizards. This does not mean that I will not defend myself and those I love, but I hope I never have too, but if that day should ever come I will be ready.   
Sorry to be so morbid, but I feel better after getting my feeling out and there are not many people I can say such things to, for everybody expects me to be the strong one and always do what needs to be done with no doubts at all. I could talk to Ginny, but I don't want to put any more pressure on her right now so that only leaves you. (Imagine bitter laugh here) The public expects their heroes to be perfect and don't think for a moment that they are human, with human frailties. Most of the time the public's opinion doesn't bother me, but occasionally when I am under a lot of pressure or am especially tired it does depress me to think that even nearly twenty years after the darkest wizard ever born defeat people are still expecting me to play the hero.   
My friends and family understand this and so treat me as just, Harry, not some unrealistic hero out of a comic book. Kingsley also understands where I am coming from and treats me normally to, well, a normally as he can since he is the Minister of Magic, but although we are good friends he has enough on his plate with running the government and all that entails without me ranting about the unfairness of the universe. I could talk to Remus I suppose, since he really is like a father to me in a lot of ways, but again he has enough to worry about with his wife being an Auror and knowing how dangerous that can be even in this time of peace. Thanks again for listening to me vent and again I'm sorry, but I've just been so worried about Ginny lately that I suppose it just all came out.  
In any case to change the subject, Ginny knows that she must take it easy until after the triplets are born, so although she is still working at St. Mungo's it is only part time and that is the way it will remain until after the triplets births.  
I'm sure you can guess that Ginny and I are excited about having another girl and we're hoping that the third triplet is also a girl, although we won't know until they shift position in Ginny's stomach so that the sex of the third baby is revealed. We'll let you know as soon as we do about the sex of that third baby, but I am going to say goodbye for now and you'll hear from us again soon.

Sincerely,

Harry

P.S. I'm sure you know that when Molly Weasley was told you could hear her screams of excitement from Devon to London since you have met her twice and know how excited she gets about children.

Spencer and Hotch laughed at that for they knew it was true as Molly Weasley did tend to get excited when she heard that one of her children was having a child, or in this case children of their own, no matter how many children the couple already had.  
“Well it looks like instead of one baby joining the Potter family they'll be three so long as they are all born healthy of course,” said Spencer.   
“We just have to hope that they are because from the sound of things Harry might not ever completely recover from the loss of a child,” said Hotch understanding completely since he had met people like that in the course of his work. “I've met people that were absolutely devastated if one of their children dies for whatever reason and some never completely recover from it.”   
“Well, as it happens I'm not sure if I could ever recover if one of the twins were to die on me or Jack for that matter,” said Spencer. “When you love someone if they die before their time it leaves a hole in your heart that a lot of times never completely goes away.”  
Hotch nodded for he completely understood. “Haley was like that for me or she was anyway before I met you. Once we got together that hole in my heart was completely healed, but if anything were to happen to you...” Hotch paused unable to articulate his thoughts.  
“You would never be completely whole again,” Spencer suggested his voice choked full of emotions and Hotch nodded. “I feel the exact same way I promise you and I know you are very likely to die before me since not only are you ten years older, you have a very dangerous job, but I'll take what time I can get.”  
Both men leaned towards each other until there was not an inch between them and kissed long and lingeringly.  
When they had broken apart Hotch asked, “Remember what Ginny told us?”   
“When?” asked Spencer.  
“When she commented on how close we were, much closer then ordinary couples.”   
“Oh yes then,” Spencer said remembering Ginny words exactly. “She asked us if we had felt anything unusual when we had kissed for the first time and I remember both of us thinking that it was a rather odd question, but then I told her that we both felt like we were finally complete, like something had snapped into place in both our souls the minute we had shaken hands at Starbucks and when we had kissed for the first time several months later the feeling was intensified.  
“Ginny was very pleased at your words I remember,” Hotch said remembering Ginny's pleased look of satisfaction as if she had been proven right about something.  
“She then asked us if we believed in soulmates and I told her that I had done some research into old myths and legends, particularly the Japanese ones and even though there was a lot of stories on the subject of soulmates I wasn't sure if I believed them and neither were you. Ginny said that I should because soulmates were real and that she and Harry had been soulmates since they had been born and so had you and I. You remember what happened after that.”  
“Ginny whipped out her wand and said something in Latin while giving her wrist a complicated little twist,” Hotch said by way of reply remembering that day perfectly. “After she had finished I could suddenly see this thick cord of dark blue light connecting you and me.”  
“I saw the same thing,” Spencer said, “which you were aware of. Ginny then told us that the cord connecting us meant we had been supposed to meet and fall in love, that we were destined to find each other. She said that not every person on Earth had a soulmate and that not even every magical person had one only the ones that had been born more than once and were mature enough to handle it.”  
“I remember both of us protesting that we didn't believe in reincarnation and Ginny just shrugged and said believe what you will, but if you ever try to kiss or have sex with anybody else you would have to accept the consequences of your actions and even for muggles like yourselves those consequences would be rather dire,” Hotch said remembering. “Besides how much harder is it to believe in reincarnation, when you already believe in magic?”  
“Like I would ever cheat on you,” Spencer snorted in derision. “I love you way too much to ever consider taking such action even if it wasn't for that blue cord that connects us. I have no plans to ever kiss or have sex with anybody else.”   
“Good,” Hotch almost growled feeling very possessive kissing Spencer deeply, which the other man returned immediately and eagerly, “because I believe you'll find that I am very possessive, if you aren't already aware of that particular trait of mine, and if I ever did find you with anybody else there would be consequences, which you would not like at all.”   
“The same goes for you,” Spencer told his mate returning the kiss eagerly, with equal passion. “Normally I'm not the possessive type, but when it comes to you, well, let's just say I consider you my property and no one else is allowed to see or touch you like I do. I know I can't stop other women from staring at you or asking you out on dates or touching you to get your attention, even when you've made it clear that you're not available, but not a single one of them has ever seen you without your clothes or touched you intimately.”  
Hotch didn't take offense at Spencer's words for in this case he didn't mind being his lover's property as he thought of his mate the exact same way. They owned each other and nobody else had a right to touch them in an intimate way.  
“And they never will for I'm yours, just as you're mine,” Hotch assured his mate confidently pulling Spencer onto his lap and kissing the top of his head causing his mate to almost purr like a contented cat, causing Hotch to chuckle. “Just the thought of anybody else touching me the way you do makes me want to throw up everything I've ever eaten and makes me nauseous besides.”  
Spencer looked up into Aaron's face and noticed that he did look rather green.  
“Shhh! It's okay, don't think about it anymore if it really is making you sick,” Spencer said soothingly something he normally never had to do with Aaron since he was usually the one in charge not the other way around. That Aaron allowed himself to be taken care of instead of handling it in his own way showed just how close the two of them were and how much they trusted each other.  
Slowly the green tinge faded from Hotch's face and he seemed to be feeling better within a few minutes. Of course Spencer rubbing his shoulders soothingly and kissing him on the lips, tenderly every few seconds helped a great deal.  
“Thanks,” Hotch said as he pulled Spencer as close to him as he could. “I don't plan on ever bringing the subject up again if it's going to make me feel like that. I really did feel as if I wanted to throw up everything I've ever eaten in the last ten years and if that's how you felt on our honeymoon when the subject came up I don't blame you for never bringing it up again.”  
“You're more than welcome and yes, that's now I felt,” Spencer told him as he lovingly continued to rub Aaron's shoulders causing the other man to relax, the tension leaving his body. “I felt exactly the same as you just did as my stomach got all queasy and I felt like I wanted to throw up everything I'd ever eaten,” Spencer added quietly remembering that day, when they had been laying in bed and the subject had come up and how nauseous and sick he had felt.   
A sigh of contentment, escaped Hotch's lips as he let Spencer continue to rub his shoulder's gently. His head flopped back until it hit the wall gently and he closed his eyes as Spencer continued what he was doing. “Besides how many times over the last few years have you comforted me? It's just my turn to do the same for you since you are usually the strong one.”  
Both men were silent for awhile but finally Spencer said softly, “It seems like those legends I read after we had met have at least some truth to them as I really did feel like I had come home the minute we shook hands in Starbucks that day. I was never so content and happy until the day I met you, even though I had my sons. I love them and we'd had our happy times, but ever since that day almost ten years ago I've been happier and more content then I have ever been in the whole rest of my life combined. I realize now that I was lonely, despite my sons and Sara living in the same house.”  
Spencer looked up into his mate's dark eyes and saw all the emotions that he was feeling, love, contentment, happiness, possessiveness reflected back at him in Aaron's direct gaze.  
“I feel the exact same way,” Aaron assured him softly holding Spencer's body as close to his as possible and enjoying having the weight of the lighter man sitting on his lap. Spencer was lithe, tall and slim, while he was tall true, he was also much bulkier and broader of shoulder and in the chest as he was just built differently. Spencer had more of a runner's or swimmer's body, while he was shaped more like a football player and in fact he had played ball in high school and college.  
Spencer sighed contently and seemed to burrow further into his mate's body, seeming to be trying to absorb Hotch's body heat.  
“Even if I didn't believe in soulmates, I know without a doubt that we belong together,” said Spencer moving his hand to Hotch's shirt and pulling in order to untuck it from his jeans.  
Hotch immediately responded by placing his hands on both of Spencer's in order to stop him from finishing the job he had started, which his lover pouted at. “We had better head upstairs and you can finish undressing me in our bedroom and I will gladly let you have your way with me. You can even be on top if you like.”  
Spencer stared up into Aaron's eyes in surprise for normally he was on the bottom while his lover took the top and therefore the dominant position whenever they made love. For his mate to offer him the top position was an extremely rare event since Spencer had the submissive personality while his Aaron was the alpha and therefore the leader in all things, work, decisions and definitely when they were having sex. For Aaron to submit to him was a privilege that he wasn't about to turn down, not in a million years. It wasn't that he minded being in the normally submissive position, far from it, but he occasionally did enjoy taking the dominant position and now was such a time.  
“I would have to be an idiot to turn down such an offer since it happens so rarely and I am definitely not stupid,” Spencer said.  
“No, you are not,” Hotch agreed huskily kissing the younger man on the lips in a show of things to come. “In fact you are anything but. You are intelligent, educated, compassionate, handsome, passionate, especially in bed, and a wonderful father to our sons.”  
Spencer began to pant and his cock was making a very visible bulge in his pants at the love and passion in Aaron's kiss. “Let's go upstairs so I can strip you naked slowly and kiss and taste every inch of your delicious skin.”  
Hotch's eyes darkened even farther at the images Spencer's words put in his mind and he couldn't wait to be owned by the man he loved and feel the younger man to enter his body, hitting his prostrate and sending waves of excruciating pleasure though his entire body, causing it to spasm before he reached his climax.  
“Let's go, before I lose control completely and take you right here where anybody can walk in on us,” Hotch urged heading upstairs immediately, Spencer following grinning for he knew that it was a rare event for him to make his lover lose control like that as usually it was the other way around. Him making the man he loved lose control made him feel powerful indeed and he planned on taking advantage of it in just a few minutes.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The two men reached the bedroom and Spencer closed the door and locked it so that Jack and Sara would know that they were not to be disturbed.  
As soon as Spencer had done that he turned to face his mate who was standing at the foot of the bed waiting calmly for Spencer to start stripping him out of his jeans and short sleeve shirt, even though there was also anticipation in every line of his body.  
Spencer approached Aaron and slowly began to finish the job he had started downstairs by pulling his lover's shirt the rest of the way out of his jeans and then undoing the button of the jeans themselves. As soon as the button was undone Spencer pulled down the zipper slowly knowing exactly what he would find when the pants were discarded and he was not disappointed.  
As soon as Spencer was finished with his pants Hotch pushed them down enough to allow them to drop so that they were puddled at his feet and then calmly stepped out of them, kicking them out of the way.  
Spencer almost salivated as he saw the visible bulge of his Aaron's cock that was very prominent through the thin layer of his underwear and swallowed visibly for he couldn't wait to swallow every single drop of his lover's semen or to be buried inside his body. In fact he couldn't really decide which he wanted more so he was hoping to get to do both.  
Spencer's hands came to rest on the waistband of Aaron's black silk boxers and ever so slowly he pulled them down until they were past his hips and were able to just drop to the floor once they were.   
As Spencer had been busy doing that Hotch had gotten out of his shirt, so now he was totally naked before his mate whom he could tell was enjoying being in charge for a change and also that Spencer's cock was already more then half hard as he could see the very prominent bulge though the slacks the other man was wearing.  
“You have my permission to undress me,” Spencer told Aaron after kicking off his shoes. Hotch nodded eagerly and began to immediately do just that. First Hotch unbuttoned Spencer's slacks and then pulled down the zipper and once that was done he pulled the pants over his mate's slim hips until they fell to the floor without any further help from him. Spencer stepped out of them and kicked them aside just like Aaron had done mere minutes ago. Next Hotch lifted Spencer's shirt and the other man raised his arms automatically and it wasn't long before his blue shirt joined the slacks on the floor. Now all that was left was his underwear and Hotch was having trouble controlling himself at this point as his gaze went up and down his lover's very toned body.  
Hotch put his hands on the waistband of his mate's underwear and slowly pulled them down until they could puddle on the floor. The prominent bulge that was his mate's cock sprang free immediately and stood up straight and proud as soon as it was free of the confining material.   
“Now, that we are both naked it is time to get started so what I want you to do is lay down on the bed, on your back, legs spread apart, arms at your sides, pillow under your hips,” Spencer ordered his voice gruff with lust and Hotch obeyed immediately without a word after turning the sheets down. Actually Hotch could hardly wait to see what his lover was going to do to him and the anticipation was nearly killing him so he hoped Spencer didn't intend to take his time for it wasn't often that he ceded control during sex to the younger man mostly because he liked to be in charge and his mate certainly never seemed to mind. Then again Spencer had told him more then once that he wasn't the alpha male type, so that was bound to have something to do with it.  
Spencer slowly approached the bed from the other side and once he had climbed in he rolled over to where Hotch was laying on his back arms at his sides, legs apart so that Spencer would have access to that part of him, easily.  
It was only a few seconds later that Spencer had one of his knees between Hotch's legs to keep the other man from closing them on accident while in the midst of pleasure while his other leg was on the other side.  
“I love you,” Spencer told Hotch quite passionately, “so much. I can share anything with you and I know you'll never judge me or use it against me. You are my life and without you I am incomplete.”  
Hotch didn't have a chance to respond as Spencer began kissing at the top of his chest and slowly worked his way down avoiding where he knew his lover needed him the most for the moment because he had been serious when he said that he was going to kiss and taste every inch of his mate's body, before he allowed his Aaron to come.  
“I love you too,” Hotch finally panted as Spencer continued what he had been doing, which was kissing every inch of his mate's chest avoiding the area where Hotch needed him the most.  
Hotch groaned as feelings of intense pleasure begin to build slowly within his belly and spread throughout his body and he knew that it wouldn't be very long at all before he would be of the hold back his climax anymore, since his cock was already as hard as a rock and leaking his seed out of the tip onto the sheets.  
“You are mine,” Spencer almost groaned as he moved his body up just enough to kiss and lick his lover's throat right where the Adam's apple was. “You taste absolutely exquisite,” Spencer said closing his eyes in pleasure as he took a nice long lick with his tongue up Hotch's throat. The look of intense pleasure on Spencer's face made Hotch's penis get even harder as a result, which he hadn't thought was possible since he was already hard enough to be extremely painful.  
Hotch withered underneath Spencer making little grunts and groans of pleasure trying his best to let Spencer do what he wanted with his body, although he wasn't sure how much longer he could last before spraying his seed all over Spencer and himself.  
“Enjoying yourself, are you?” Spencer teased his lover as he slowly kissed and licked his way down Hotch's very smooth, hard thighs that were covered in fine, dark hair.  
“You know the answer to that so why should I have to give you one?” asked Hotch his voice strained with passion. Hotch's control was obviously fraying and Spencer was thrilled that he could bring his lover to the edge of losing his normal iron control.  
“I didn't really expect one,” Spencer admitted his voice extremely husky with his suppressed emotions. “In fact I didn't expect you to be able to respond to where I could actually understand you. I see I shall just have to do even better than I have been. I want you to let go of your control completely, in me. I want you to beg me to finish it.”  
Hotch groaned knowing that he was only holding onto his control by the thinnest of threads, but wanting to make the man he loved work at making him lose it for what would be the point otherwise?  
Spencer continued licking and kissing his lover's thighs, covering every inch of both the outside and inside and so it wasn't long before he was kissing his Aaron behind his left kneecap and licking the spot afterwards.  
With that little action Hotch's body almost literally came off the bed as Spencer had known it would for he had known for some time that his lover was very sensitive behind his knees and why this was so he didn't know, but that didn't stop him from taking full advantage of it.  
“Please! I need you inside me! Now!” Hotch begged feeling no shame in his words like he normally would have if he had been having sex with anybody else for alpha male personalities didn't normally beg, but with Spencer he knew it was okay to let go of his control and beg and plead for his mate would never use his vulnerabilities against him.  
“Do you want this?” Spencer said rising up on his hands just enough so that his very hard cock with his seed leaking out of the tip was fully visible. “You want this inside your tight, hot channel?”  
“Yes! Please!” Hotch almost whimpered as he was only holding on to his control by the skin of his teeth and he wasn't sure how much longer he could do so, since his famous control was deserting him at the moment and he didn't mind in the least.  
“Well, I suppose I could give you what you want,” Spencer said his voice choked for he was on the edge of his control as well as was only just holding on, barely.  
With those words Spencer grabbed the bottle of lubricant that he had waiting on the bedside table and quickly slathered his cock as well as several of his fingers with the slick substance making sure they were fully covered in a thick layer.   
Before Spencer rammed his cock into his mate's body he very gently inserted one finger pushing it up as far as it would go before he inserted the second one using a scissorlike motion in order to stretch his Aaron's hole as much as possible before he inserted something as big as his cock. By taking the time to prepare his lover first he knew there would be less pain then there would be otherwise, although there would of course always be some pain no matter how gentle or slow he went, but then both he and Aaron knew this and had accepted it long ago since that pain was the price that two male lovers paid in order to join their bodies so that they became one.  
Finally when he knew that Aaron was as ready as he was going to be he got into position to enter his mate's body. Spencer slowly slid himself into Aaron's body to give the other man a chance to get used to his intrusion.  
Hotch accepted the little pain that he knew would be coming and his insides seemed to stretch to accommodate something as big as Spencer's cock. Spencer's cock certainly wasn't as big as his, but it was certainly a little longer and also much thinner. The pain faded after just a few seconds and waves of even more intense pleasure overtook Hotch's body as Spencer's cock hit his prostrate sending him near the edge of his climax, without any other action on his lover's part and Hotch knew it wouldn't take much at all to send him over the edge, since he was already on the precipice.  
Hotch's fingers dug into the mattress on either side of his body as he fought to not go over the edge quite yet since he wanted to last as long as possible for his lover.  
Spencer stayed as still as possible until Aaron indicated that he was ready to continue, by thrusting his hips upwards and looking at him his dark eyes filled with lust, love and passion, but no pain so Spencer knew his mate was ready for the next step and so he thrust himself in and out slowly at first then faster as Aaron began to wither beneath him silently begging Spencer to continue. Spencer had long ago learned every single one of his mate's body responses and so knew immediately when Aaron wanted him to go faster and was more than happy to oblige. It didn't take long at all for the friction to build up in both men and for both of them to scream out their pleasure as they both went over the edge within seconds of each other.  
Finally Spencer collapsed on top of Aaron knowing from experience that he was light enough that he wouldn't crush the other man beneath him and hurt him.  
Finally when Spencer had caught his breath he leaned up just enough to kiss Aaron on the lips and said, “Thank you, for letting me be on top. That was wonderful.”  
“You're more then welcome,” Aaron assured him still sounding a little breathless, which made Spencer grin inwardly. “You are the only one I've ever made love to that the alpha wolf in me will lay down, so to speak and allow me to give up control. It knows it can trust you to not figuratively stab me in the back or betray my trust.”  
“Good, I'm glad that part of you that likes being in control knows I love you far to much to ever betray you in anyway,” Spencer answered sounding extremely contented. “I was being totally serious and honest when I told you that you were my life.”  
“I know,” said Aaron solemnly running a hand through his lover's soft brown hair causing him to purr in content at the soothing motion. “You are mine as well.”

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several weeks later another letter arrived this time from Landon and Spencer immediately sat down in the family room with it, although since Hotch was gone on a case he didn't open it immediately as he had promised himself several years ago that he would never read a letter without his mate being present at least over the phone.  
Spencer checked the time and saw that it was about 5 o'clock in the evening.  
He missed Aaron already and he had only been gone a couple of days. The house had been too quiet with only Jack, Sara and himself at home.  
Spencer enjoyed being called to help the BAU with a case which had happened quite frequently in the last couple years as the cases were getting more complicated, but this time was not one of those occasions at least not yet. He enjoyed being useful and using his mind to a fuller extent then he normally did in his every day life and also sharing Aaron's hotel room. His being a consultant had worked out so well and they had solved quite a few complicated cases. He had been offered a full-time position with the BAU, several times, but Spencer had turned them down telling them that his sons were still too young to lose their father on potentially dangerous cases and besides he and Aaron couldn't have their relationship thanks to that no fraternization rule and there was no way in hell he was going to be parted from his lover, technically husband, just to satisfy the FBI. He had told the higher-ups that he was perfectly willing to help out whenever the BAU needed him and even use his own money to fly out to wherever they were, but he didn't want to officially join the team, although the other's on the team certainly considered him a part of it, even if it was unofficially, since he was around so much. He'd become great friends with all of them and they were now as much his family as Aaron, his sons or Sara. They recognized his talents, unlike other's he had met before them and appreciated them and how useful they were in their line of work.  
Spencer took out his phone and sent Aaron a text message telling him that he had gotten a letter from the twins and that he would wait to read it until Aaron contacted him.  
Spencer picked up the book that was on the table off to the side of where he was sitting and opened it up to the page he had been on and begin to read in order to distract himself from the letter that he really wanted to open and read.  
It was several hours later when his phone rang and he picked it up immediately seeing that the call was from his lover.  
“Done already solving crimes?” Spencer teased him as soon as he had answered the phone.   
“No,” Aaron said shortly sounding just a little irritated.  
“That bad?” asked Spencer turning serious.   
“We could really use your help out here,” Hotch answered.  
“Well, I could be out there by tomorrow if you and the others really needed me,” Spencer answered and the thought of being with his lover as well as the rest of the team was very good one. “Sara could look after Jack and make sure he gets fed. Besides our son is at that age that he's perfectly capable of staying by himself for a few days, so long as there is someone to drive him to school and back.”  
“True enough,” Hotch admitted thinking that Jack was 15 now and it wouldn't be too long before he was getting his driver's license and then going off to college.  
“So what is it about this case that is so difficult?” asked Spencer and Hotch begin to tell him all about how particularly devious and intelligent this unsub was and all they had done to try to solve it up to this point.  
“Yes, I see what you mean about complicated,” Spencer said slowly as his brain processed the information that Aaron had given him. “If you really need me I can be there by morning.”  
“I don't want to pull you out of working on your next novel or anything, but it would be appreciated,” Hotch admitted. “I'm ready to catch this unsub and come home,” he added his voice irritated.  
“My novel can wait,” Spencer assured his lover. “My memory is eidetic as you know so I won't forget what I want to say no matter how long it is before I start to work on it again as you know, so if you need me I'll be there as soon as I can.”  
“Thanks, just text me as to what time your flight gets in and I'll have one of the team pick you up,” Hotch said.   
“That's okay, I'll just rent a car with my own money,” Spencer said.  
“Well, it's a good thing that my bed is a queen size so that you won't have any trouble joining me in it, so at least that save's you the price of a hotel room,” said Hotch his voice teasing.  
“Like I would ever consider getting a separate hotel room with you right next door,” Spencer snorted knowing he was being teased. “I have no intention of sleeping alone when you and I are so close to each other.”  
Hotch sputtered in laughter at that for he had been expecting Spencer to say exactly that when he had mentioned the possibility of a separate hotel room.   
“I'm glad you find me amusing,” Spencer said pretending to be irritated although his lover of course knew better.  
“Sorry,” Hotch apologized knowing that he didn't need Spencer irritated at him in the next few days. “I couldn't resist.”  
“You're forgiven,” Spencer pretended to grumble, but he was smiling for he had missed bantering with his Aaron over the last couple of days. “So what else has you so irritated as usually a complicated case doesn't do that, frustrate you yes, but not irritate you. I will admit though if there was a case to get irritated over it would be this one.”  
“Well…” Hotch hesitated knowing how protective Spencer was of him.   
Spencer heard that hesitation and immediately guessed the cause of it. “Some female being particularly persistent?” Spencer asked knowing that he was correct.   
“Yes,” Hotch admitted. “I've only been here for two days and she's already starting to get on my nerves even with the rest of the team running interference. I've tried to tell her that I'm not available and that I'm married, I even showed her the wedding band on my finger and yet she still is trying to get me into her bed. She said that my wife would never know if I slept with another woman and she doesn't seem to care about personal boundaries. I even told her that yes my partner would know if I cheated on them, for they would immediately see the signs of guilt and know the reason for them. I also told her that even if my partner wouldn't notice I wasn't about to cheat, because I loved them way to much to go behind their back like that.”  
Spencer almost laughed out loud, although he managed to contain his amusement at the last moment. Every once in awhile some female would try to get his attention on a case and normally his lover didn't have any trouble handling it, but sometimes a female would be persistent and Hotch's usual tactics of getting the female admirer off his back wouldn't work.  
It didn't seem to matter that Hotch was in his 40s now, for he was still a very handsome man and the female of the species were very attracted to his dark good looks, his broad shoulders and the way he commanded the attention of a room. He was a powerful presence that strode into a room with confidence and calm authority, his body language practically screaming I am an alpha male and I'm not about to take any shit from anybody. Many women both younger and older were attracted to that and some of them just didn't know how to take no, I'm not interested for an answer and in fact took it as a challenge where he was just playing hard to get.  
“So how do you want to handle this irritation after I get there tomorrow?” asked Spencer. “You want me to kiss you in full view of her?”   
“It might take that, for her to get the hint,” Hotch grumbled with a smile in his voice. “I'm almost positive however, that nothing else is going to work as she seems as dense as a bag of stones, well, either that or she can't take the hint. Come to think of it she can't be stupid or she never would have reached her current position. She seems to believe that she's so beautiful that she is irresistible to the male of the species and I get the sneaking suspicion that not many people if any have ever turned her down before.”  
“So is she beautiful?” asked Spencer just a little curiously.   
“Yes,” Hotch answered immediately and completely honestly. “I won't deny that she's gorgeous, but even if I wasn't married and in a permanent relationship with you and I thought about going out on a date with her, her attitude would put me off and that's even if I wasn't working as you know how I feel about mixing my personal life with my work.”  
Spencer did indeed know that Aaron's work ethics were airtight and he never mixed business with pleasure, which was another reason for his lover to be all irritated as this woman was distracting him from giving his job his full attention.  
“So what is this woman's name and what does she look like so that I know her face before I get there.”  
“I figured you would ask so I took a picture with my phone without her knowing when and I'm sending it to you now,” Hotch answered still sounding irritated, “and her name is Brina Lowell.”  
A few seconds later Spencer's phone beeped telling him he had a message and he immediately opened the attachment that Aaron had sent him.  
“You're right, she is very beautiful,” Spencer said after he had studied the photo for a few seconds.   
The woman in question had dark hair like Aaron's, except long and curly with big green eyes and perfect cupid bow lips, she also had high cheekbones and a high brow. From what he could tell she had a slim and attractive figure, although it was just a head and shoulders shot. The shoulders were slim though and that usually meant that the rest of the body would be the same way as well.  
“How tall is she?” asked Spencer.  
“Around 5'5' or 5'6,” Hotch answered.  
“Hmm,” Spencer answered a plan already forming in his mind. “Is she a cop?”  
“No, she's actually the manager at the hotel we are staying at,” Hotch answered.  
“The manager?” asked Spencer one of his eyebrows rising in surprise. “So that's what you meant a minute ago by 'reaching her current position', but come on the manager of a hotel acting so unprofessionally? She seems to be acting more like a whore then somebody who is intelligent enough to run a hotel or who has reached her current position, which couldn't have been easy, because of the fierce competition, most of it male. Besides if she is intelligent she has to realize that she could get fired or at least demoted if she is reported.”  
“You would think so, yes, but from the way she's acting I don't know if she realizes that or maybe it's just that she doesn't care,” Hotch said sounding exasperated. “She must've come by our table when we were having breakfast the other day at least half a dozen times asking if we needed anything, although it was clear it was mainly me she was asking. She's started wearing these low cut blouses that show off her assets and short skirts that show off her legs yesterday and I've heard several other guests commenting on the way she's acting and dressing and how it wasn't normal for her. She's put herself in my way every time I poke my head out of my room. The only thing that makes her unwanted attentions bearable, is the fact that I'm only at the hotel to sleep and for breakfast, so she doesn't have many chances to try to get me alone.”  
“Still it's annoying,” said Spencer understanding where his lover was coming from.   
“Right, as usual. Actually the only thing she hasn't done is knock on my door and throw herself at me. Well, that or been waiting for me in my room totally naked.”  
Hotch knew how Spencer would react the minute he said that and was not disappointed.  
“She better not try that,” Spencer almost growled feeling suddenly very possessive of the man he loved and adored, even though he knew there was no reason for it, for he didn't doubt for a moment that Aaron was loyal to him as didn't his lover telling him about this woman who was making a considerable pain of herself, prove that? Aaron wouldn't have had to say anything at all if he was really interested in this woman, but from how irritated he sounded Spencer knew that his lover was losing patience for this Brina Lowell's antics in trying to get his attention quickly and that was a very difficult thing to accomplish as usually it seemed that Aaron had almost endless patience.  
“Well, once you get here tomorrow, hopefully that will put an end to her trying to get my attention or at least I hope so since how can I concentrate on the case with her being such a bother?” Hotch said, calmly, although he felt a little warm glow inside at his mate's reaction.  
“I certainly hope she gets the point or she's going to find herself in a world of misery,” Spencer said. “Nobody tries to come between me and my mate, not that I doubt your loyalty to me or anything. You've done everything possible to discourage her except send her smoke signals and she hasn't taken the hint.”  
“What do you plan on doing?” asked Hotch and Spencer could hear the grin in his voice at his possessiveness, which made Spencer smile as well even if he knew that his lover couldn't see it.  
“Oh don't worry I won't physically assault her,” Spencer said. “I'm not usually the type prone to violence as you know, but it's very tempting in this case to deck her.” Hotch chuckled at that. “No, what I plan to do is take her down to size with a few words and actions and you know very well I can do it.”  
“So you are going to give her a demonstration?” Hotch asked and Spencer could hear the suppressed laughter in his voice  
“If that's what it takes,” Spencer said sounding possessive making Hotch chuckle again. “Since she's not taking the hints that you've been giving her, I'll just destroy her figuratively, by taking her self-esteem down a peg or two or even more if necessary.”  
“So, you plan on putting your arms around me and kissing me in full view of the team and the other patrons of the restaurant, including the manager telling everybody that I belong to you?” Hotch suggested and Spencer could hear the smirk in his mate's voice.   
Oh, yes, Aaron Hotchner would welcome such an action, from him, just to get this hussy to leave him alone, even though normally both he and Aaron were private people, that never did anything besides hold hands or kiss lightly on the lips or cheek in public.  
“If that's what it takes for her to leave you alone then I will,” Spencer said sounding determined, “and if she doesn't stop bothering you after that then you may have to do something more drastic, like filing a complaint and I'm sure she doesn't want that black mark on her record. Of course with the way she's acting it might not be her first black mark and other people might have complained before us.”  
“I would hate to be responsible even if only partly for her losing her job, but you're right that she's acting very unprofessionally and more like a street whore,” Hotch said. “Also you might be right that this is not the first time she has done this and if losing her job brings her back to reality then I might be sorry for her, but it would be deserved. Besides teaching her a lesson now my save her some pain or possibly her life later as you know there are plenty of people out there that would take advantage of her attitude and use it against her.”  
“Why do you believe that this Brina Lowell acts like she does?” asked Spencer at a total loss to explain the woman's attitude, but he knew that Aaron probably had a very good theory as to why Ms. Lowell was being such a pest and pain in the ass.   
“Well I would need more information to be sure that my conclusions are correct,” Hotch began, before Spencer interrupted.  
“I'll take your guesses over other people's supposed facts any day of the week,” Spencer told him with a snort. “Your guesses are always at least partly correct, which just comes from your vast experience with human nature.”  
“Thanks, for the compliment,” Hotch said sounding pleased, which made Spencer grin a little. “Well, if I had to guess I believe Ms. Lowell is just a few years younger than I am maybe late 30s, early 40s and I would say that her attitude stems from the fact that she's getting to the point in her life that having a child is becoming a desperate biological imperative for her. In other words her biological clock is telling her that she's running out of time to reproduce.”  
“So you are saying that she's been hounding you because she not only finds you attractive, but wants to have a child with you?”  
“Yes, or that's my best guess anyway,” Hotch said.   
“I think you are probably right,” Spencer said as he thought about what Aaron had told him. “Actually, I'm sure you're correct and her biological clock is telling her that she is running out of time to have a child and she of course wants to find the most attractive, intelligent and powerful man possible in order to have that child with and unfortunately for you, you fit the bill as you are close to her in age, are attractive, intelligent and also extremely confident in yourself and powerful. Any child you were to have would have at least some of your traits, but you know a child's early environment and parental influence is also important in their development, but all those things only do so much in how a child turns out.”  
“That's not what my stalker seems to believe and in any case it is never going to happen as I would never make the mistake of being alone with her so that she could drug me and then have sex with my body while I was under it's effects as that is the only way I can even remotely see it happening.”  
“That's smart,” Spencer said his tone approving.  
“Yes, well as soon as I was aware that she was after me and figured out the likely reason I took the precaution of never being caught alone while I'm anywhere in the hotel, except my room and even then I make sure I put the chain on in case she uses one of the extra hotel keys to enter my room while I'm sleeping and can't protect myself,” Hotch said.  
“Good, I'm glad to hear you're taking precautions,” Spencer said approvingly. “If she did try to get in your room with the chain on she wouldn't succeed, at least not before you woke up and became aware of the situation anyway.”   
“And I'm a pretty light sleeper, at least when I'm in bed alone, which is a good thing in this case with that woman being so persistent,” Hotch said.  
“Well, you can't really blame her, you are handsome, intelligent, strong, powerful, have broad shoulders, and a very powerful personality so in other words you are everything a woman could want in a lover or husband. I don't dispute your stalker's taste, just her sense of personal boundaries,” Spencer said.  
“Lucky me,” Hotch said dryly his good humor mostly restored as just talking to Spencer did that for him. Just the sound of the other man's voice was enough to ease the tension in his body and make him relax and his actual physical presence was like a balm to his soul.  
“Well why don't you try to stay out of trouble and I'll be there probably early tomorrow. I'll text you when my flight is,” Spencer said.  
“Alright, I should probably get some sleep anyway so I'll see you tomorrow,” Hotch said by way of ending the call.  
“Bye,” Spencer said before disconnecting the call.  
Well, time to get busy Spencer decided after a few minutes of silence. He needed to arrange things with Sara, so that she would be able to take Jack to school and bring him home, pack a few days worth of clothes and his toiletries and he should be ready to go.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Good morning everyone,” Spencer greeted the rest of the team just as they were sitting down to breakfast the next morning. Spencer had gotten a very early morning flight that had put him in Nome Alaska just a couple of hours ago and getting through security and renting a car had taken the rest of that time. Besides there was a four hour time difference between Alaska and Virginia and so it was four hours earlier in Alaska then it was in Virginia, which was why he really was incredibly sleepy and needed his coffee.  
“Good morning, Spencer,” the whole team greeted the younger man as one except for Hotch who couldn't take his eyes off his lover, who looked adorably sleepy and so handsome with his dark brown hair so tousled from the wind that it made Hotch want to take his lover in his arms and kiss the breath out of him and then take him back to his hotel room and make love to him slowly. Of course Spencer Reid had never been a morning person and liked to sleep as late as people would let him or until his body demanded that he rise for the day. Besides you really needed to consider the time difference between here and home and when you did it would become apparent why his lover looked so sleepy and tired as he couldn't have had more then an hour or two of sleep at home before having to head to the airport.  
“Spence, it's so good to see you,” JJ greeted rising from her chair and walking over to give him a sisterly hug and a kiss on the cheek. Spencer grinned at Hotch over JJ's shoulder and returned the hug with obvious pleasure. If he had ever had a sister he would like to imagine that she would have turned out like JJ, caring, compassionate, intelligent, with a great sense of humor and personality.  
“Thanks, JJ, it's good to see you too,” Spencer told her with that boyish grin that always drove Hotch wild with desire. Hotch firmly told a certain interested part of his anatomy to settle down as now was not the time to get all excited. “I heard you guys needed some help and with the twins in boarding school nine months of the year and Jack almost grown up I have plenty of time to help you guys out.”  
“Is that the only reason you came down here?” Morgan asked with a knowing grin. “I'm sure Hotch told you about the manager of this place that has been bothering him ever since we checked in. Are you sure you didn't come to this cold city to make sure that this Brina Lowell knows that Hotch is your property?”  
Hotch rolled his eyes at Morgan's words, but couldn't help smiling nonetheless.  
“Aaron and I already talked about the trouble Ms. Lowell has been causing,” Spencer answered unperturbed by Morgan's implied comment as he was used to the big black man's teasing by this time. “You ought to know we don't keep secrets from each other as that is the best way to ruin a good relationship, well that or cheating on your partner.”  
“Why don't you have some breakfast as I know the kind of lousy food they serve on airplane flights,” Rossi suggested gesturing to a chair that was between him and Hotch that had been left for Spencer specifically.  
“I flew first class, more leg room,” Spencer said as he sat down in the chair that Rossi indicated and began to take off his warm leather gloves that were trimmed in some kind of fake fur and unwrapped the long navy blue scarf from around his throat, after putting his tote bag with his clothes at his feet, “but you're right, although the food might be better in first class it's nothing compared to home-cooked or even a good restaurant meal.”  
“It's good to see you, Spencer,” Emily commented as she grinned at him from across the table.  
“You as well Emily and I'm even glad to see Morgan over there,” Spencer added looking at the man he considered as close as a brother with a grin on his face.   
“Hey!” Morgan exclaimed looking offended.  
Everybody at the table laughed including Hotch who was usually a very serious type person, especially when he was working, but then Spencer had a way of just lightening the mood the minute he walked into a room.  
“It's good to see you,” Hotch told Spencer very quietly giving his hand a squeeze under the table. “I missed you.”   
Spencer looked into Aaron's eyes and saw the relief and love reflected there and said just as softly, “I love and missed you too.”  
Spencer turned to Morgan after he and Hotch were done greeting each other and said more seriously, but with a certain twinkle in his golden brown eyes. “Of course, I'm glad to see you Morgan, but as much as you tease me you ought to expect the same in return and I've been working on my comebacks.”  
Everybody at the table, with the exception of Morgan laughed at the look on the black agent's face while Spencer pretended to scan the menu and ignore Morgan entirely, which only infuriated the man more, which had been his intention.  
“Let's see,” Spencer debated for a moment as all the breakfast items on the menu looked good, “I think I'll have the sausage, egg and cheese omelet, with orange juice and of course coffee.”  
The waitress appeared just then and Spencer ordered his breakfast and so did everyone else.  
“So did you get much sleep on the flight?” asked Rossi as he studied the younger man's face and noticed how tired he looked.   
“Not really,” Spencer answered. “Flying might be the fastest way to travel, but who can sleep when you have a kid behind you that keeps kicking the back of your seat every few minutes?”  
Everybody at the table winced at that for they had experienced the same thing at least once when they had been flying commercial when they had been going on vacation or emergency leave.  
“Well, first things first,” Hotch said finally speaking up at a natural pause in the conversation, “we need to go by the front desk after breakfast and get the extra key to my room for Spencer, so he can drop off his bag and then we need to get to the police station and see what we can do to solve this series of murders before this unsub strikes again.”  
“So have you been filled in on the case, kid?” Morgan asked turning serious, although Spencer knew he was probably plotting his revenge even as they spoke, but would wait until after the case was solved and he wouldn't have it any other way.   
“Yes, Aaron filled me in over the phone yesterday which is the reason I agreed to come in the first place.”  
“So you didn't come protect your man from the manager who is after his body?” asked Rossi with a grin causing Hotch to blush lightly. Hotch glared at his older friend and teammate, but it didn't seem to have any effect, but then again David Rossi was Italian and they were known to not embarrass easily and to also talk about sexual matters more openly then a lot of other people did.  
“I think Aaron is perfectly capable of taking care of himself,” Spencer said calmly, pretending not to notice his lover's blush so as not to embarrass him farther. “I came up here to help with the case and if I can discourage this woman at the same time, well, as far as I'm concerned that's good. With the boys at school most of the year it's kind of lonely with just Sara and Jack there, so I was glad that you guys needed my help since it will give my brain a good workout.”  
“Yeah you should've been on the team for the last nine years,” Morgan commented.   
“It was my first choice of career as you well know,” Spencer told everybody at the table calmly, “but thanks to my sons I decided that it wasn't for me. Too dangerous. Besides Aaron and I could never have had a relationship openly if I was an official member of the team thanks to that no fraternization rule, so it worked out for the best.”  
“I suppose,” Morgan grudgingly agreed.  
Spencer didn't know it since he was facing away from the right direction, but the manager Brina Lowell had been coming towards their table had heard that last comment and the color had drained out of her face until it was as white as a corpse's.  
“I think the woman that has been such a pain in the ass ever since we arrived just heard your last comment, Spencer,” Emily told the younger man with a grin as she was sitting on the other side of the table and was therefore facing the right direction to see the manager approaching.  
Spencer looked over his shoulder and saw that the woman that Hotch had sent him a picture of over his phone had indeed heard his last comment for the color had drained out of her face completely to where she was as white as a sheet.  
“Well, maybe she's finally gotten the point,” Hotch suggested looking hopeful as he to glanced over his shoulder as well at the woman who had been such a thorn in his side for the last couple of days.  
“I wouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched,” Morgan said who was looking at the woman that had been such an annoyance trying to not be obvious about it. “She looks like she's ready to spit nails.”  
Hotch looked over his shoulder again and had to agree with Morgan's comment for despite the fact Brina Lowell was as white as a sheet, she did indeed look furious, not that that was his problem considering he had warned her again and again that he was in a serious, committed relationship and that he wasn't interested in her advances. Perhaps Ms. Lowell had truly believed that he was just playing hard to get, until she had accidentally overheard Spencer's last comment. Oh, well maybe she would go and do the job she was supposed to be doing now instead of dressing like a slut to try to get his attention. If she kept on acting like she was someone was going to complain, probably several someones and she would be fired or at least demoted.  
Not his problem, Hotch decided, as he had a case to solve so he needed to get his head back in the game and forget about Brina Lowell completely as hopefully she had gotten the point that he wasn't available—ever.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Brina Lowell took short, angry steps, her high heels clicking on the worn hardwood floor her face unreadable, but her body language beyond furious. The man she had been trying to get the attention of, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner had not only turned down her advances but was apparently in a serious committed relationship with another man of all things.  
She had truly believed at first that he was just playing hard to get even when the other agents had started running interference for him, but now she saw that she had never had a chance with the gorgeous Agent Hotchner at all as he really was serious about his relationship with this man who must be at least 10 years his junior.  
How such a handsome man could be gay was a mystery that she knew she would never be able to solve. Tears of frustration came to her eyes, but she held them back by sheer will power alone. She had been attracted to Aaron Hotchner from the minute she had seen him when he and his team had checked in and she had immediately developed a massive crush on him as she thought he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was not only a handsome man, but he had a power to him that surrounded him almost like a cloak and she had always been attracted to powerful men and not just their muscularity but in the personality department as well. It was clear that Agent Hotchner worked out frequently in order to stay so toned and keep those broad shoulders, which were visible even under his suit jacket, especially since he was no longer a young man and she had dreamed of kissing and massaging those shoulders while they were both totally naked in bed.  
Why oh why had this younger man, whom she didn't even know the name of, nor did she really care, have to show up now? Why couldn't he have stayed away so that she could have Aaron Hotchner all to herself? She was sure given a little more time, that she could have gotten Agent Hotchner into her bed as he couldn't really be in a committed relationship with another man, could he? She was sure that she could convince him to make love to her, to get her pregnant, for she wanted a child by the handsome agent more than anything she had ever wanted in her life and she knew very well that her biological clock was running down and she only had a few more years at most before she would be unable to have children due to her age. She had been planning to drug him if she had been unable to gain his cooperation so that he wouldn't be aware of what he was doing until it was already a done deal.  
It was obvious from the way the other agents had greeted the young man and were talking to him like they were all friends that this young man was very much a part of their group even if he wasn't an official part of the FBI.  
Why had the younger man showed up just now? Had Agent Hotchner called him and told him of all the trouble he was having with her? Had he come just to protect his territory or was their another reason? Surely Agent Hotchner wouldn't have told the younger man about her and from his point of view the pest she had made of herself, would he? He didn't seem like the kind of man that would tell even his lover something like that as he wouldn't want the younger man to be jealous, would he? Brina wasn't at all sure exactly why the other man had shown up just now, but did know that he was an obstacle that she was just going to have to get by if she wanted to get Aaron Hotchner into her bed, whether or not he was willing.  
She knew with absolute certainty that she wanted Aaron Hotchner's baby and she was bound and determined to get what she wanted, even if she had to drug him to do it.  
Brina checked at the front desk and found out that the second key to Agent Hotchner's room was gone and she thought about what that could mean. So that probably meant that the younger man was staying in the same room as Agent Hotchner, which made sense if they were indeed lovers. It would make her plan more complicated though than she had originally thought as she had to figure out a way to keep the other man away for at least an hour and preferably two or more.  
Luckily for her all the maids had skeleton keys in order to be able to enter the hotel rooms to clean and she was sure she could get her hands on one relatively easily, without arousing suspicion.  
But how was she going to get rid of the other man long enough to do what she wanted? She was sure that the younger man was going to be glued to Agent Hotchner like sticky notes to a noticeboard for the foreseeable future or at least until the agents caught their bad guy and they left to go back home. She had to figure out a way to get Agent Hotchner alone before then, but that was going to be something of a problem considering that he was never here except for breakfast and to sleep or at least that was how it had been since the agents had arrived two days ago.  
Was one man really worth so much trouble? Brina asked herself, but everything inside her shouted, Yes! To have Agent Hotchner's child, even if he would never know was worth anything. She was sure that any baby born from her genes and his would be intelligent, powerful, commanding, and take care of her in her old age. In other words he or she would be somebody and not a loser, like her own father.  
“You don't know it yet, but your time is coming,” Brina cackled softly to herself unaware that other patrons were looking at her rapid retreating form with surprised looks at how the manager of the hotel was acting. “I will have your body, Aaron Hotchner, and since I can't have your heart after I'm done with you I'll kill you, but before that I must get rid of your whore, permanently if I must. You never should have betrayed me, especially with another man.”   
What Brina didn't realize in her delusions was that Aaron Hotchner had never been hers in the first place and that her plans would end—badly.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“It sure is a beautiful night out, isn't it?” asked Spencer as he looked up at the clear night sky as he and Hotch sat on a park bench together holding hands just enjoying being together and able to relax for awhile. He and Hotch were done working for the night and it wasn't so late that they needed to go directly back to the hotel and bed, so they had decided to take a walk in the park that was nearby, while the rest of the team did their own thing.  
He and Hotch were bundled up considering it was very cold in Nome Alaska, most of the year. Both of them wore long, warm coats, buttoned up that went down to their ankles, gloves, and scarves wrapped around their necks. Even with all their clothes to keep warm their breaths still came out in little puffs of condensation as this part of the world was pretty cold, especially in winter.  
“Yes, it is,” Hotch agreed calmly, but with a smile in his voice, although he wasn't looking up at the stars, but at his lover. “The night sky is beautiful, but you put it to shame for you are more gorgeous then the stars or the moon or anything else.”  
Spencer glanced at his mate and looked into his eyes and saw that Aaron was being very sincere as if he hadn't already known that inwardly. Spencer blushed belatedly having never known that his lover felt that way about him, although he should have realized it long ago for he certainly felt that way about the older man, although he had never voiced his feelings aloud. Spencer had never considered himself even slightly handsome with his pale skin that was milk white and his ordinary brown hair and eyes, but he knew that Aaron had always thought he was very handsome, which he wasn't about to argue with his lover on as he knew that such things were in the eye of the beholder. Spencer had always been slightly puzzled about what Aaron saw in him as he considered himself plain and ordinary at least in the looks department even if he was more intelligent than any 10 people put together. Finally Spencer had given up trying to figure out what his lover saw in him and just decided to be grateful that Aaron saw something special about him that he wasn't aware he possessed. In any case it didn't really matter what Aaron saw because they were both very happy together and had been for over a decade now.  
“You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better about myself,” Spencer told him with a grin. “Did anybody ever tell you that you're the most romantic person I have ever met in my life?”  
“I never used to be a romantic at all,” Hotch told him sincerely even as he leaned over to kiss his mate's cheek, “so what can I say except you bring it out in me. I'm guessing it's because I'm so happy all the time now and that those feelings bring out that side of me because before when I was with Haley, we had our happy moments certainly, but we weren't as close as you and me are.”  
Hotch knew by now that he could talk about anything with Spencer and his lover wouldn't take offense or get jealous and so he often brought up the subject of Haley and Spencer didn't seem to mind if he talked about his dead ex-wife, probably because he always made it clear how he felt about his lover and Spencer was intelligent enough to realize that Hotch needed to talk about his ex-wife sometimes just to get it off chest and keeping feeling's bottled up wasn't good for anybody especially negative ones. Spencer knew that his lover still felt guilty for his ex-wife's death by the Reaper even if it hadn't really been his fault and so talking about her sometimes helped relieve those feelings of guilt at least a little so Spencer didn't mind.  
“Haley and I just grew apart and lost that common ground that you need in order to maintain a healthy relationship, especially a marriage. Both of us could have tried harder to understand each other if we hadn't been so caught up in our own lives and before you knew it there was a very wide rift in our relationship that neither of us tried to bridge, even if that had been possible. Really by the time we got divorced the only thing we really had in common was Jack and as much as I love my son he wasn't enough to keep our relationship together.”  
“No, just your son would not have been enough to help you maintain your relationship because you lost all that common ground that you had when you got married,” Spencer said. “Luckily for us we have plenty of common ground.”   
“Yes and we also work to make sure the romance stays in our marriage, which Haley and I never did,” Hotch said. “I mean even just sitting on the couch by each other is something we share, but we also go out to dinner together when we can, go to the movies, discuss our day, which is why we've made our relationship last just like we told the team not too long ago. Haley and I never did that and you know she never wanted to hear about my work even the things that weren't classified so that's one of the reasons our marriage eventually ended. The one thing I'll always be grateful for about our marriage for is our son.”  
Both men fell silent then and wrapped up in each other's arms they sat staring up into the gorgeousness of the night.  
“Why don't we get up and walk a little,” Hotch suggested and Spencer nodded by way of agreement. It really was a beautiful night with all the stars shining brightly down, even if it was also very cold. The two of them got up off the park bench and started walking hand-in-hand along the walking track that was part of the park.  
“It's so nice just to have some time for you and me,” Spencer said as the two of them walked along. “No kids, no Sara, no team to bother us. I know this moment alone with you won't last, but I'm going to enjoy it while it does. I love the children, Sara and the team, but just you and me time is rather scarce and all the more precious for that.”  
“Yes, that's true,” Hotch admitted giving Spencer's hand a squeeze, “but just imagine it won't be many more years before all three of our boys are out on their own and then we'll only have Sara for company so we'll have lots more time for just you and me.”  
“As much as I'm looking forward to that I'm going to be sad when all three of our children do permanently move out and get their own lives,” Spencer admitted.  
“Me too,” Hotch admitted. “We love our children, which is why we are sad that they are almost grown, but we know that they will eventually leave us, although I'm sure they'll visit frequently.”  
“I suppose we had better head back to the hotel,” Spencer said reluctantly after awhile. “It's getting really late and I know you need to get some sleep so you can catch your bad guy.”  
“Actually we both need to get some sleep so that you can help us catch our unsub,” Hotch answered, “and I know how hard it's to wake you up in the morning,” he added teasingly.  
“So I've never been a morning person,” Spencer told him with a smile, “which you are well aware of.”  
“That's the understatement of the decade,” Hotch told him, but with a smile to take any sting out of his words.  
Spencer looked sheepish, but didn't comment as he knew very well that Aaron was right and he wasn't exactly a morning person, never had been, never would be.  
“Let's get back to the hotel,” Hotch said finally, although he looked just as reluctant as Spencer did, but he knew that they both needed to get some sleep as they would have to be up early in the morning, so they could continue working on the case and it was already after 10 o'clock.  
“If we must,” Spencer said not looking anymore enthusiastic about having to go back then Hotch did considering there was a good chance that they would run into Ms. Lowell who had been stalking Hotch since he had arrived, even with Spencer there. The manager of the hotel was starting to get even on Spencer nerves and normally he had the patience of a saint or so it sometimes seemed. Then again he, Aaron Hotchner belonged to the younger man, body and soul and where he was concerned Spencer did not have much patience at all or at least not for any female that was being such a pain in the ass and ignoring every single hint that he was not available now or ever. Spencer didn't get frustrated or upset often, but a woman being persistent in trying to get his attention was enough to make him lose his normally monumental patience, especially when she was ignoring every single hint that Aaron had given her.  
“Hopefully we won't run into her,” Hotch said seeming to know what Spencer was thinking without him having to say anything, but then again the two men knew each other extremely well as they should since they had been together almost 9 years 7 of those married.   
“With the way things have been going lately we probably will,” Spencer snorted sounding unusually cynical. “Murphy's Law has been in fine form lately putting all these obstacles in our paths.”  
“Well, we won't let those obstacles stop us, will we?” asked Hotch already knowing the answer.  
“Hell no!” Spencer immediately and vehemently agreed causing Hotch to stare at him in astonishment and amazement for a moment before grinning at his lover's response.   
“Besides if we didn't have some troubles occasionally we would know that Fate was really out to get us if things were going to smoothly,” Hotch suggested.  
“I suppose that's true,” Spencer agreed as the two of them walked the block or so back to their hotel so they could go to bed.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So, I believe our unsub lives and works in this area,” Spencer said putting a pin into the map that he had been working on. It was several days later and the situation with the hotel manager stalking Hotch had not improved and in fact had only gotten worse as Brina Lowell seemed to be determined to land Hotch and have him as her own even though his lover had made it more than abundantly clear to Ms. Lowell that he was a happily married man and had no intention of sleeping with her even once, much less multiple times.  
The cops had been surprised when Spencer had walked in with the rest of the team that morning four days ago, but Hotch had simply told them that Dr. Spencer Reid was a consultant that the BAU used frequently and that he was taking the time out of his busy schedule to help them out and that he would be working here at the station to help them solve this rather difficult and complicated case.  
None of the cops had objected, but then again the looks that Aaron Hotchner was giving them would have discouraged objections. The cops had watched over the last several days how the entire team with Spencer included worked seamlessly together which clued them into the fact that Dr. Spencer Reid was accepted among the FBI's best, which meant that he must have helped them solve quite a few cases, because normally men like Agent Hotchner and his team never would have accepted someone who wasn't also FBI.  
“What makes you think that?” Morgan questioned and Spencer explained his reasoning and the rest of the team nodded as it made complete sense.  
“How did we miss that?” Emily asked rhetorically as she ruffled Spencer's hair affectionately for if he was right he had just brought a major break in this case.  
“Different people just see things in different ways,” Rossi said  
Emily rolled her eyes at Rossi and said, “It was a rhetorical question, meaning I didn't really expect anybody to answer it.”  
“Then you shouldn't have said anything,” Rossi shot back grinning at his teammate.  
Emily rolled her eyes again at Rossi to show her exasperation, but didn't say anything else.  
“We've always known that Spencer is good, as good as the rest of us and that he has a very unique perspective, which is what we needed to help solve this case,” Morgan said.  
Hotch didn't say anything, but the pride, love and promise shining in his eyes, made Spencer's day for a compliment from the man he loved was worth more then all the money in the world to him.  
“I think it's time that we all go get ourselves something to eat,” Hotch suggested. “We'll work better if we are not hungry.”   
“Yeah!” Morgan cheered.  
Everybody on the team chuckled at Morgan's reaction, but then again they were all hungry and they knew that Morgan was probably more hungry then the rest of them just because he was such a big man and needed more food to have the energy he needed to do what he did day in and day out.  
“Good, I'm glad we're going to go get some food, because I'm tired of hearing Morgan's stomach growl,” Spencer teased his big black friend.  
“So what if I'm hungry?” Morgan asked rhetorically ruffling Spencer's hair causing the other man to give an irritated huff and duck in order to avoid Morgan's hand from messing up his hair any further. “We're all hungry, so let's go get us some food to fill our bellies and then get back to work. I for one am determined to catch this guy as he is starting to irritate me.”  
The others laughed, but agreed that this particular unsub was starting to irritate them all, even as they walked out of the police station so they could go find some food. Half a dozen police officers watched them go.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later the unsub was finally caught and the whole team breathed a sigh of relief, including Spencer Reid. The rest of the team knew that Spencer was largely responsible for their success and they were determined to thank him with dinner at a nice restaurant before they all headed back to Quantico in the morning   
Spencer protested saying that he didn't need thanks, that he had been glad to help, but JJ pointed out that he had helped them out immensely and he wasn't even an official part of the FBI.  
“You need to accept the team's thanks for what it is,” Hotch told Spencer with a small smile playing at the corners of his lips, “for tomorrow we head back home and get back to the old grindstone. Besides this will give all of us a chance to relax for a couple of hours before we head back to the hotel and to bed. We head home first thing in the morning.”  
“Alright, fine,” Spencer said giving in with good grace pretending to be all upset, although Hotch who knew him best knew better.  
And it was with that statement that Spencer found himself dressed in the fanciest clothes that he had brought with him, which was just a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt and sitting in a very nice restaurant sharing dinner and lighthearted conversation with the rest of the team.  
Aaron was sitting beside him and they both maintained some kind of contact throughout the meal whether it was a hand resting on a thigh, or holding hands briefly under the table.  
“So how's Penelope doing since I haven't talked to her in awhile?” Spencer asked Morgan as they ate their dinner.   
“She's fine,” Morgan assured him. Morgan had finally admitted his feelings for the FBI's technical analyst several years ago and they had started dating before getting married just late last year.  
“Any little Morgans coming in the near future?” Emily asked with a smirk. “You know that Garcia isn't getting any younger and it won't be more than another few years before she'll be past childbearing age.”  
“Actually, she is pregnant,” Morgan admitted with a sappy smile.   
“She is?” JJ exclaimed wondering how Garcia could've kept this piece of news from one of her best friends.  
“She is,” Morgan confirmed, “and this will probably be our only child, especially with our jobs. Besides as you pointed out she is getting to the point in her life where bearing children is more dangerous then when you're younger.”  
“You know if you had admitted your feelings sooner, you could've had three or four children, you know,” JJ pointed out.   
“Alright fine so I was an idiot,” Morgan admitted, “but then so was Penelope. I was so determined to play the field...but I can't change what happened in the past.”  
“Yes, you both were idiots in denying your feelings for each other that were obvious to the rest of us,” Rossi told Morgan even as he patted him on the back in congratulations.  
“Look who's talking,” Morgan told Rossi with an evil smirk. “Who is it that has been married three times and also been divorced three times? At least I have only been married once.”  
“But had sex with how many women over the years? Dozens at least,” Rossi said in rebuttal smirking at Morgan  
Spencer and Hotch listened to the conversation for a few minutes then looked at each other smiles playing at the corner of their mouths as they both watched the rest of the team congratulate Morgan on the upcoming event.  
“Congratulations, Morgan,” Spencer congratulated his friend sincerely. “I am truly happy for you and Garcia.”  
“Thanks,” Morgan told Spencer his eyes alight with happiness. “I never thought I could be this happy in my life.”  
“You deserve every happiness to,” Hotch told Morgan. “My congratulations to you and Garcia as well.”  
“Thanks, Hotch,” Morgan said with a smile for his boss, but also his friend. The team really was a family in many ways. “Oh, by the way, Spencer, Penny and I were talking about godfathers the other day and we want you to be godfather to our son or daughter.”  
“Why me?” Spencer sputtered in surprise. “You haven't known me half as long as you've known the others.”   
Morgan fixed Spencer with a penetrating stare that made him duck his head down in order to avoid it. “No, Penelope and I haven't known you as long as we've known the others, but we still think you are the best person for the job as we both consider you a younger brother. We know that if anything should happen to either one of us that you'll take care of our son and daughter. Besides they're other contributing factors.”  
The look that Morgan gave Spencer and Hotch just then, let them know without any words that, their child might have magic, since Garcia did and Spencer and Hotch were the only ones who could help out in that case since his sons also had it.  
Spencer nodded conceding the point that Morgan was trying to make without actually saying the words since there were other people present that weren't in the know. He laughed to himself as he remembered the day that Derek Morgan had found out that magic was real and that was after he had proposed to Garcia, a couple of years ago.  
He remembered that like he and Hotch how much trouble Morgan had had accepting it until Garcia had shown him exactly what she could do with a wand and both Hotch and Spencer had verified that magic was indeed real.  
After that, he, Hotch, Garcia and Morgan had several long conversations as he was filled in on what they all knew of the wizarding world. Garcia had also stressed the need for secrecy as that was one of their cultures main laws and that was also why she had never told him or the others on the team about what she could do that should be impossible and would be under ordinary circumstances.  
“Alright, I accept,” Spencer conceded.  
“Good, Penelope will be pleased, when I tell her when I tell her,” Morgan said. “She was afraid you would say no and that nothing we could say would change your mind. All of us know very well how stubborn you can be, Hotch better then any of the rest us,” he added with a smirk.  
Spencer didn't deny that he was stubborn, because he knew it was true, but then again every person sitting at the table was also stubborn so it wasn't like he was the only stubborn person in the room. Really you had to be stubborn if you wanted to be part of the BAU for it was almost a required trait, well that and determination to catch the unsubs that caused so much pain and suffering to ordinary, hard working men and women.  
“Back at you, Derek Morgan as you are one one of the most mulish, stubborn people I have ever met in my life.”  
Everybody laughed at Morgan's expression, which was somewhere between amused, surprised and pleased.  
“I'm proud of you kid, you're getting better at those comebacks,” Morgan said his expression affectionate.  
“It must be all the practice I get hanging around with you,” Spencer told Morgan his golden brown eyes twinkling merrily. The rest of the group laughed at Spencer's comeback, including Hotch. “I've known you for what? Seven, almost eight years? I suppose I could have absorbed some of your juvenile sense of humor by now.”  
“Oh that's one for Spence,” said JJ with a grin drawing an imaginary 1 in the air, while everyone, except Morgan laughed again.  
“Since when are we keeping score?” asked Morgan trying to look offended even though he was enjoying himself immensely.  
“Oh we've been keeping score all along, we just never told you,” Rossi said casually with a grin as he leaned back in his chair relaxing as he watched the others tease Morgan. Rossi had never said anything to Spencer or Hotch for that matter, but he was proud at how far the shy young man had come in the last 9 years. He had gone from being nervous in meeting new people to being one of the team even if it was unofficially. Rossi knew that it had taken a lot of hard work on both Spencer's and the team's part for the young man to truly become integrated into the group, but they had all made the effect and now he was enjoying the results. Rossi glanced at his old friend Hotch and saw as he snuck his arm behind Spencer's back and pulled the younger man against his side when he was sure that nobody was looking and he grinned at his friend who smiled back briefly, not at all embarrassed to be seen showing the man he loved some affection with other people present. Who cared what other people thought of their relationship? It was no one's business, but his and Spencer's in any case.  
It was such gestures Rossi knew that had at least been partly responsible for Spencer being much more outgoing than he had been then when Hotch had first met him. Hotch had shown Spencer, through his actions that he wasn't ashamed of being in a relationship with another man and that he didn't care what other people thought of them as a couple. He had shown by small gestures that he was confident in their relationship, like by holding hand or kissing in public, where other people could see them and not just behind closed doors. Such gestures had done wonders for Spencer's confidence in himself and were reciprocated by the younger man who no longer cared about what others thought of the love that he and Hotch shared. Oh Spencer was still shy, sometimes depending on the situation, but never as long as Hotch was there beside him. Hotch seemed to give the younger man confidence to not care what other people thought of him and Spencer seemed to be able to get his lover to relax more and be less serious all the time, which were both good changes as far as Rossi was concerned.   
Hotch's and Spencer's relationship was one of the deepest and truest Rossi had ever seen in his long life and he knew deep in his soul that nothing would ever separate the two save death and maybe not even that. He also knew that when one of them did die the other one would never take another lover as the bond between them was so deep that it defied description. It actually wouldn't surprise him if whoever was left after the other one died if they to passed away from a broken heart within a year of their partner's death. They were soulmates, if you believed in such things, two people who had been meant to discover each other, and fall in love.  
Rossi finally came out of his thoughts when he finally heard JJ asking Morgan why he or Garcia hadn't told her that Penelope was pregnant. Weren't she, Emily and Garcia practically sisters? So why hadn't they shared such terrific news with her and Emily?  
“Relax JJ,” Emily told her friend, although she glared at Morgan that told him he had better have a good explanation or he was going to regret keeping quiet.  
“We just found out, a couple of weeks ago,” Morgan assured the two furious ladies. “We thought at first that she just had the flu or something, but the symptoms persisted. Finally I convinced her to go to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, that was the day she took off if you remember and she found out to her surprise that she wasn't sick, but was going to have a baby.”  
“Well, I suppose you're forgiven then,” JJ said grudgingly, “although I still think you and Penelope should have told all of us as soon as you found out.”   
“We needed a little time to absorb the news,” Morgan told everyone, “to get used to the idea that we were going to be parents, when neither if us really expected to ever have any children since we were getting a little bit old for it.”  
“So what did the doctor have to say?” asked Rossi with a raised eyebrow.   
“That Penny needs to be really careful because she's older,” Morgan answered. “The doctor says she needs to take it easy and relax as much as possible and that he'll put her on bed rest if he must and you know that would drive her crazy.”  
Everybody at the table agreed with that.  
“Is she going to need to take any maternity leave?” asked Hotch speaking for the first time since the conversation began.   
“Not right now,” Morgan told Hotch understanding where the question was coming from. “The doctor believes she'll be okay to go to work so long as she stays off her feet as much as possible. As her pregnancy advances it might be a different story but for right now she's going to continue to come in.”  
Hotch nodded as luckily Garcia's job was done mostly sitting down and she didn't have to be on her feet much at all, which was good for he would've hated to lose the best technical analyst he had ever known even if it was for just a short time.  
“What about after the baby is born?” asked Rossi.   
“We're still discussing that,” Morgan said. “She believes that she is going to want to come directly back in after only a month or two of maternity leave. She told me any more time off and she'd go crazy from boredom and while I can understand that since I happen to agree, though I would like her to take it easy for as long as possible and look after the baby.”  
“So have you made any plans as what you're going to do with your son or daughter when you both come back into work?” asked Spencer.  
“No, not yet,” Morgan said. “Unfortunately Penny doesn't have any family left except for me and our child after it's born and my family lives in Chicago.”  
“I could look after the baby some days,” Spencer offered. “I don't have much to do with the boys at boarding school and Jack almost grown. Besides I miss tending to an infant and Sara will be there to help.”  
“That's a very generous offer,” Morgan told him looking at Spencer and surprise but also with respect. “I'll have to discuss it with my baby first, but I'm sure she will agree.”  
“Well, I could look after the baby while you are gone on one of your cases or at least help Garcia out, while she's at work. Really Hotch and I don't live so far out in the suburbs that Garcia couldn't pick up your son or daughter after she got off work or I could bring her to your house, whichever works best.”  
“If we did that that could solve a lot of problems,” Morgan admitted thinking it was a good idea as he knew very well that Spencer had raised his twin sons practically on his own with only the help of his housekeeper Sara until they were four and he had met Hotch. “We'll have to figure out what to do about the days that you can't look after them while Penny and I work.”  
“There's always childcare,” Hotch suggested. “We would have to check into whatever childcare place you and Garcia decided to leave them at just to make sure all the employees were clean, but it could be done.”  
“Yes,” Morgan nodded. “If we did have to leave them at one of those childcare places let's say a few days a week theoretically, then Spencer could take care of them the rest of the time. Yes, that could work.”  
“Don't worry so much, Morgan,” JJ told her friend, “we'll help you work it out.”   
“Thanks, JJ,” Morgan said shooting JJ a grateful look.  
“You're welcome,” JJ told Morgan with a grin. “Now if you don't mind I think I'm going to pay my check and head back to the hotel, I'm absolutely exhausted and we do fly home early tomorrow.”  
The rest of the team seemed to think that was a good idea and they all told the waitress when she appeared that they needed the check.  
The waitress appeared with everybody's meal combined onto just one check and Rossi snatched it before any of the other team members could even get a look at it and handed the waitress his credit card.  
“No, I will not accept any protests,” Rossi told them. “This is my treat so live with it. We all said that we would take Spencer out to dinner for all his good work on this case, well, I just decided that I was taking all of you out to dinner and that is the end of it.”  
“Thanks, Rossi,” the rest of the team thanked him including Hotch who slapped him on the back as well.  
“You're all welcome,” Rossi told them as he accepted his credit card from the waitress. “Now I know JJ is right about one thing and that is we're all exhausted so it's time we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.”  
The rest of the team agreed with Rossi's suggestion and all rose and headed out of the restaurant to their cars so that they could go back to the hotel and get some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Spencer approached their hotel room door together and Spencer was the first one to get his key out of his pocket and unlock the door.  
“You know we didn't see the manager down in the lobby when we came in,” Spencer said before he turned the doorknob to open the door. “Do you think she's finally given up?”   
“I sure hope so, but even if she hasn't we'll leaving in the morning so I won't have worry about her cornering me. You really have been helpful as has the rest of the team shielding me from her as much as possible.”   
“I really don't know what her problem is,” Spencer said looking irritated as well as a little frustrated and angry.   
Hotch could hardly blame Spencer for what he was feeling considering that the manager had been a real pain in the ass ever since he'd arrived and even more so since Spencer had gotten here.  
“She's desperate,” Hotch said knowing that he was absolutely correct in that assumption for Brina Lowell's actions to date were nothing more than those of a desperate woman trying her best to get what she wanted. “Both of us had better be careful, for if she's desperate enough she could try to kill one or both of us.”  
“You're right,” Spencer conceded, “but for now I'm for bed. Care to join me?” he added with a grin.  
“Of course,” Hotch said to tired to even feel the normal elation at sharing the same bed as the man he loved, much less do other things, things that would have to wait until both them had had some sleep.  
Spencer turned the doorknob and opened the door stepping inside Hotch behind him. “I'm so tired I think I'll save my shower until tomorrow morning,” Spencer said as he went to flip on the lightswitch, that was on the wall by the door.  
Before he could complete the action though both men suddenly heard heavy breathing and then the sound of running footsteps. “If I can't have you no one will!” shouted a very familiar female voice. “You spurned my advances! I was willing to give you everything! And yet you turned me down for someone else! You shall pay! You shall both pay!”  
There was gleam of a knife and Hotch took immediate action shouting, “Spencer! Get down!” Hotch wasn't sure where he found the energy as tired as he was, but almost as if his actions were not his own he felt himself leap at the younger man managing to knock him to the side with his greater build just as the knife that Brina was holding started to descend.  
Spencer let out an oomph as he hit the thinly carpeted floor with a thud, the knife just barely cutting the flesh on his arm.  
Hotch got to his feet in an instant and had Brina in a headlock with her arms trapped behind her back in just a few seconds. Aaron looked furious, Spencer took the time to notice before he slowly got to his feet as soon as he was sure it was safe.  
“Are you okay, Spencer?” asked Hotch in concern as he saw the younger man's arm bleeding and the bump on his forehead.   
“I'm fine, thanks to your quick actions. It's just a cut and a bump on my forehead from where I hit it on the floor.”  
“Maybe we should take you to the emergency room just to get you checked out,” Hotch said still looking concerned.   
“I'm fine, Aaron,” Spencer promised. “I'll be sore for a day or two, but your quick actions saved me at least from serious injury and possibly my life so I thank you.”  
“Let me go,” Brina screamed struggling in Hotch's grip. “Let me go!”   
“Sorry,” Hotch said not sounding sorry at all and in fact if truth be known he sounded rather pissed off. “For your actions you're going to be in jail for a long time and if I didn't believe in justice so strongly I'd give you exactly what you deserve for trying to kill the man I love, not to mention official consultant for the FBI who will not view your actions lightly. The whole team can testify to the fact that you have been harassing me since the minute we all checked in and how I tried to discourage you and tell you that I was married. Don't think I didn't notice the death glares that you've been giving Spencer, practically since the minute he arrived.”  
“Aaron and I were hoping that once you knew about our relationship that you would leave him alone,” Spencer told the still struggling woman calmly although he made sure to stay far enough away so that she couldn't kick him. “If you had succeeded in your goals, you would have left our three children fatherless.”  
Brina stopped struggling momentarily after she heard that and the thought crossed her mind that the man she had been obsessed with was apparently bisexual instead of straight gay, unless those three children were adopted, not that it mattered now.  
“Spencer, would you get my handcuffs off my belt?” asked Hotch his voice calm although his posture was still furious. “After you do that call the rest of the team, hotel security and the police, so that they can search the room for evidence and I know I don't need to tell you not to touch anything in the meantime.”  
“Of course,” Spencer agreed calmly edging past Brina carefully reaching behind his lover's back for the pair of handcuffs that he knew were there.  
Once he had them in his hand he carefully edged back around Hotch being careful to avoid Brina's struggling form.  
“Now do you think you can put the cuffs on her while I hold her?” Hotch asked his lover. “I don't dare let go as you know she'll try to run and as much as I feel like slugging her I won't, although she has certainly tested my patience more than anybody else has in a long time.”  
“Sure,” Spencer said trying to appear more confident then he actually was.  
Brina was fooled, but Hotch knew his lover to well and gave him a look that told Spencer that his mate believed he could do it and that he had confidence in him, which gave him a sense of power.  
“You will stop struggling,” Spencer told Brina with steel in his voice, which was unlike his normal calm quiet tone. “Did you really think that if you'd managed to murder me and Aaron that the rest of the team would have let you go free? They've seen how you've been acting ever since they arrived and you would have been their prime suspect and they would have pulled out all the stops to see you convicted. Did you really believe they wouldn't care? Didn't you bother to think about the consequences if you had managed to murder one or both of us? Now that you have a assaulted a federal officer and an official consultant for the FBI you will be going to prison for a very long time and when you get out I hope you have learned that obsessions are not healthy and can cause you to do rash things.”  
As Spencer had been speaking, he had calmly pulled one of Brina's arms behind her and put one side of the cuffs around Brina's wrist and then pulled the other arm behind her as well cuffing the other so that they were handcuffed behind her back.  
“If you had managed to murder me, I'm not sure that Aaron would have been able to stop himself from doing the same to you. The bond we share is much deeper then is normal in 99% of relationships. The last few days of you putting yourself out there trying to come between me and Aaron, never would have worked since I knew very well what you were doing and that Aaron is loyal to me.”  
Brina looked disgusted, and a spit saliva onto Spencer's face where he let it run down his nose and then his cheek.  
“That's very unsanitary you know,” Spencer said calmly as he took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped Brina's saliva off his cheek.  
Hotch looked furious and he tightened his grip on Brina's wrists just a little. Spencer saw the action and said, “It's okay Aaron, she can't do anything to us, and if spitting on me is the best she can do then she's out of luck on insulting me.”  
“It's an insult, to not just you, but me,” Hotch said looking as mad as Spencer had ever seen him. “It's degrading and disrespectful and it means that she doesn't care about your feelings at all.”  
“I know,” Spencer said even as he discarded the handkerchief in the wastebasket. “I'm the one that studies all these things you know, but I refuse to let her disrespect affect me as it only degrades me if I let it.”  
Spencer glared at Brina, which was very unlike him but at the moment he didn't care if this was normal behavior for him as he was very tired of this whole stupid situation that never should have happened in the first place. Actually scratch that, he was just bloody tired and ready for a nice, long sleep. “I'll call Rossi and let him get the others up,” Spencer said as he took his phone out of his pocket, which luckily had not been damaged when Hotch had knocked him to the floor.  
“You're calling Rossi instead of Morgan?” asked Hotch with a small smile, already knowing the reason why since Morgan was very hard to wake up and tended to grumble about it until he'd had at least two cups of coffee and he would not be pleased to be woken up after just having gotten to sleep and Hotch would not be able to blame him since this whole situation with Brina should never have happened in the first place.   
“I'm not in the mood to put up with Morgan's grumbling about being woken up,” Spencer told Hotch bluntly. “I'm too damn tired to put up with it if you want to know the truth of the matter. All I want to do is sleep for the next twenty-four hours.”  
“You most likely won't sleep that long,” Hotch said looking at his lover critically. Spencer did indeed look dog tired, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be cured with at least 8 to 12 hours of sleep. He was tired himself and all he wanted to do was climb into bed, cuddled with his lover and sleep for a few hours before their flight left, but he knew that he would be up for the couple hours at least helping the rest of the team gather evidence.  
“I know you and the rest of the team will be up for the next couple of hours at least gathering evidence do you think we could leave later in the afternoon instead of in the morning like we planned, as that will give everybody a chance to get at least a few hours sleep,” Spencer suggested after he had gotten off the phone with Rossi, who had promised to call the rest of the team as well as hotel security and the police, seeming to be reading Hotch's thoughts, but the truth of the matter was he just knew his lover and how he thought extremely well as he should considering they had been together almost ten years. In fact their anniversary was coming up soon and he had already made plans for it, if they didn't get interrupted like they had on occasion.  
“That's probably a good idea,” Hotch conceded, which was quite a concession for him, but then again it was a rare event that he was this tired.  
“You're relationship is a sacrilege, a sin and an abomination,” Brina screamed as she started struggling against Hotch's grip again despite the fact that her hands were handcuffed behind her. “You should both be ashamed of yourselves and how you act where other people can see twisted and unnatural you both are. Men who have sex with other men should be killed in order to protect the rest of us from such vile, unhealthy ideas. The idea of two men in a relationship is unnatural and should be outlawed.”  
“You be quiet,” Hotch ordered Brina as he glared at her which made her fall silent and lower her head so that she was not looking directly into Hotch's furious eyes as most people couldn't stand out to the SSA Hotchner glare for more than a few seconds. “I don't really give a damn what you think about mine and Spencer's relationship. Our relationship is nobodies business but ours. You just feel angry because you didn't get what you wanted, but even if I wasn't involved with Spencer I wouldn't even look at you just because your attitude pisses me off. Pretty soon you'll be in prison for at least the next ten years and I hope you think long and hard about your actions tonight, because if Spencer had gotten more than a cut and a few bumps and bruises you wouldn't have survived to go to prison and that's a promise.”  
“That's a threat, and the police will be very interested in that fact,” Brina cackled sounding totally insane.  
“I'll back him up,” Spencer answered immediately. “I'll just tell them that you were told to be quiet because you were spewing all kinds of nasty things about our relationship and we were tired of listening to you, which also has the advantage of being the truth. Who do you think they're going to believe, someone who's acting like an obsessed madwoman who will say anything in order to get out of her predicament or somebody like Hotch and I, who are members of the FBI? I'm sure, they will want do a psych evaluation on you and that they'll find that your obsession has driven you at least temporarily insane.”  
Brina fell silent for she was smart enough to know that what Spencer said was true that the DA and the police were more likely to believe an FBI agent who had at least a decade of service to somebody like her who had been stalking Aaron Hotchner for the last week and then tried to kill him and his little slut too.  
Suddenly the rest of the team arrived, along with the police and several security people. “Hotch, man, kid, are you okay?” Morgan demanded not sounding at all sleepy as soon as he entered the room.   
“We are fine, Morgan,” Hotch assured his subordinate his voice calm as he handed Brina over to one of the policemen. “Be careful with her, she nearly escaped my grip twice, as she's pretty strong.”  
The policeman nodded and got a good grip of Brina before Hotch let her go so that the cop could escort her away.  
“You were damn lucky if you ask me,” Emily said as she to entered the room.   
“I won't deny we were lucky,” Hotch said, “but to tell you the truth I was kind of expecting something like this.”  
“So were the rest of us,” JJ admitted, “we knew when she didn't give up after Spence got here, that she was stalking you and we all know what happens sometimes with stalkers. They become obsessed with the object of their affections.”  
“And then they build this fantasy in their mind of a made-up relationship,” Rossi added.  
“Then you betrayed her with someone else even though the relationship between you and her was never real at all,” Morgan added.  
A man wearing a pair of slacks and a collared white shirt approached Hotch and Spencer. “Agent Hotchner we have a few questions if you don't mind.”   
“Of course, but do you mind if one of the medicals looks over Spencer first as he was cut on his arm and a lot of bumps and bruises. I just want to make sure that that's the extent of his injuries,” Hotch requested politely even though it was clear that he was dead tired.  
“Of course,” the man agreed as he looked over at Spencer Reid and saw the large bump on his forehead for the first time. Lt. Peretti winced in sympathy at the nasty looking bruise Dr. Reid was now sporting that still looked fresh and was a livid red, although it was beginning to darken a little. “By the way my name is Lt. Ronald Peretti and I am in charge of this investigation.”  
“It's nice to meet you, Lieutenant,” Hotch said shaking the man's hand Spencer doing the same.   
“And you Agent Hotchner, Dr. Reid,” Lt. Peretti said. “I heard how you caught that man that had murdered about a dozen people and you have my thanks. That's one of the reasons I became a police officer so I could get those types of people off the street and into prison where they belong.”  
Hotch nodded in agreement for that was the main reason he had joined the FBI instead of staying an attorney.  
“I hope this won't take too long, Lieutenant, all of us are extremely tired as we haven't had much sleep in the last 36 hours or so. All any of us really want to do is get a few hours sleep before we head back to Quantico.”  
“I can certainly understand that,” Lt. Peretti agreed. “This shouldn't take too long as we got the basics from the rest of your team.”  
“Good,” Hotch said his expression unreadable.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So, you're telling me that this woman who is the manager of the hotel has been stalking you for the last week,” Lt. Peretti said to make sure he had his facts straight.  
“Yes, that is correct,” Hotch said as he sat down in the little breakroom chair that the lieutenant was questioning him and Spencer in. “You said you got the basics from the rest of the team and I'm sure they told you that from the minute we checked in Brina Lowell made it obvious that she wanted to get me into her bed. I tried everything in my power to tell her that I was married, but she ignored every single one of my hints and after a couple of days she was really starting to annoy me. The only thing that made the situation bearable was that the only time I was at the hotel was to eat and sleep.”  
“Yes, the other members of your team said basically the same thing,” Lt. Peretti admitted.  
“I'm sure they did as they all saw what was going on,” Hotch said as he laced his long, elegant fingers in front of him on the table top. “I'm sure you are aware that you can't be a member of the BAU unless you are fairly observant as that is required in our job description. You really need to understand human nature in order to be part of our unit since that is how we profile our unsubs.”  
“Unsubs?” asked Lt. Peretti with a raised eyebrow.  
“Oh sorry, it's short for unknown subject and that's what we call our bad guy when we don't know who he or she is,” Hotch explained.  
“Ah, thank you for clarifying that,” Lt. Peretti said.  
“You're welcome, I sometimes forget that the rest of the world doesn't understand terms like unsub since the BAU are the only ones that use it that I am aware of,” said Hotch with a tired shrug. “The term was coined by Jason Gideon who was unit chief before I was.”  
“Ah, now there is a name I am familiar with,” Lt. Peretti said.   
“I'm sure you are,” Hotch agreed calmly completely unruffled as he sat in the uncomfortable breakroom chair calmly, “Gideon is fairly well-known in certain circles.”  
“Now I just have a couple more questions for you and then I'm sure the assistant manager can get you a different room so that you can get some sleep.”  
“Thanks, that would be much appreciated,” Hotch said with a calm nod.  
“Now we questioned Miss Lowell and she claimed that you threatened her,” Lt. Peretti said.  
Hotch didn't even blink and said calmly, “Miss Lowell is delusional as I'm sure the medical examiner has told you. She has built up a made-up fantasy of our relationship in her mind, one that never existed. I'm sure you have come across this type of person in your line of work just like I have.”   
“Yes, I have,” Lt. Peretti admitted.  
“Lieutenant, there is something I am sure that you are not aware of about me and that is that I never would have paid any female any attention even if I wasn't in a permanent relationship with someone else, because when I'm working I don't focus on anything else. The only reason I noticed her at all was because she was being persistent, putting herself in my path every time I entered the hotel, dressing in these low-cut blouses that showed her…”  
“Assets,” Lt. Peretti suggested.   
Hotch made a face, but nodded in acknowledgment. “That's one word for it. Also she wore these short skirts with high heel shoes to make herself look taller and to show off her legs. It's not that I didn't notice her or what she was doing, it's just that I didn't really pay attention since I am in a very happy relationship. I tried telling her that I wasn't interested, that I was married and she claimed that my wife would never know.”  
“That's strange,” Lt. Peretti said dryly, “she claims that you stalked her not the other way around.” Peretti saw the brief flash of irritation that passed over Agent Hotchner's face and could hardly blame him for it. “Don't worry, I've come across enough of liars in my years on the police force to know when someone is stretching the truth to fit their version of events and she definitely is. Besides every single one of your team tell me essentially the same story, but with enough variation that it's clear that you didn't all practice your stories together.”  
Hotch relaxed at that and nodded. “Lieutenant, my team and I came here for one reason and that was to catch the unsub that had killed 10 people before we even arrived. We came at the police department's request to help catch the killer before they could kill again. Now though, that your unsub is caught all any of us want to do is get a few hours sleep and then head home as it's been a tiring few days.”  
“Ms. Lowell also says that Dr. Reid threatened her and told her to leave you alone and that he'd kill her if she did not,” Lt. Peretti revealed wanting to see Agent Hotchner's reaction. He didn't have to wait long and Hotchner's reaction surprised him even though he had been expecting some type of reaction, just not the one he got.  
Hotch snorted and said, “Spencer Reid, if he had said such a thing would have been far more subtle then Ms. Lowell is claiming. He never would have threatened her in such an obvious way, even if he had it in him to actually say such things. I'm sure the team told you that Dr. Reid was never alone long enough to threaten her at all as one of us, if not all of us were always with him and not because we don't trust him, just because he always traveled with us to and from the police station and also wherever we decided to have lunch or dinner. Lieutenant, Spencer doesn't have it within him to be violent not unless he was defending his sons as he knows I can look after myself. Spencer is one of the gentlest souls I have ever known and I'm not just saying that because I love him as I'm sure you know, I'm saying that because it's the truth and the rest of the team would agree.”  
“They all did tell me essentially the same thing,” Peretti admitted. “I'm surprised that he was allowed to help you solve this case since he's not a member of your unit or even a member of the FBI.”  
“He is an official FBI consultant,” Hotch told the lieutenant who nodded as that made sense. “He did want to join the FBI after he graduated college at 21 with several degrees, but Spencer decided against it after the birth of his twin sons as he thought it was too dangerous a profession and he didn't want to risk getting himself killed and leaving his sons with no family. You'll find after you talk to him for only a few minutes that he is extremely intelligent and he has six different degrees three of those PhDs and he got all of those by the time he was 21 as I just said.”  
“He has six different degrees and got them all by the time he was 21,” Peretti said his disbelief obvious in his tone.   
“He went to college at age 12,” Hotch told the lieutenant who looked disbelieving. “He has an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words a minute. He remembers everything he ever read even if it was say 10 years ago and can read you back a random page in a book word for word no matter how long it's been since he's read it. He is an expert on a variety of subjects and he has helped the BAU solve more then one tough case over the years. He has more obscure facts and trivia stored in his head then any 500 people.”  
“He doesn't really seem like the type to want to be in such a dangerous profession,” Peretti commented more out of curiosity than anything else.  
“He told me once after we had first met that all he had ever wanted was to help people and stop families from being broken up like his was,” Hotch revealed not feeling as if he was sharing anything confidential. “He said if he can stop a rapist or a murderer from striking again then he feels like he's making a difference in the world. He isn't a very athletic, which would have prevented him from going out in the field, if he couldn't pass his gun test if he was an official member of the BAU unit instead of a consultant. Consultant was really the best fit for him as he works behind the scenes to help us catch our targets. He never goes out in the field, and most people don't even know of his contributions to help us catch so many people who like to kill, rape, or do any number of other violent crimes for a living. He doesn't join us on every case, not even on most of them, just when they turn out to be really complicated and where his obscure knowledge would be helpful in catching our unsub.”  
“I would think you being involved with him would prevent him from being a consultant as I thought the FBI frowned on that kind of thing,” Peretti commented.   
“If he was an official member of my unit, then yes there are rules against agents being involved with each other,” Hotch said, “so you were right about that, but the FBI, the BAU in particular so rarely uses consultants that there are no rules about an agent being involved with one.”  
Peretti nodded for that made sense for most FBI agents he had met were arrogant and would never have thought about using a consultant who wasn't a member of their organization in order to help solve a case unless they had no other choice. The BAU members though seemed to be the exact opposite, and that wasn't to say they weren't arrogant in some ways, but it was about their skills and abilities more then having an outsider as part of the team. Spencer Reid was very much a part of the unit, even if it was unofficially as the rest of the team including the unit chief had defended him immediately when it was obvious that Brina Lowell was trying to pin some wrongdoing on him. Now there was loyalty, the kind that was extremely rare in today's world and Peretti wondered briefly what the other man had done to earn it. Peretti would have expected Aaron Hotchner to defend Dr. Reid simply because they were married and therefore lovers, but the rest of the BAU team had also immediately jumped to his defense when Ms. Lowell had tried to claim that he had threatened her. Spencer Reid must be an unusual man to inspire that kind of loyalty in Agent Hotchner's team, not to mention the man himself as he knew that those kind of people didn't trust easily and wouldn't leap to the defense of just anyone.  
“That is the end of this interview. I am satisfied that you Agent Hotchner had nothing to do with Ms. Lowell's actions and neither did the rest of your team,” Peretti said officially ending the interview. “You're free to go Agent Hotchner I'm sure that the assistant manager can find you another room so you can sleep for a few hours since the other one is still a crime scene.”  
“If I may ask what did you discover in the hotel room?” asked Hotch.   
“Well it looks like Dr. Reid's clothes were slashed to ribbons with a very sharp knife,” Peretti revealed and saw Hotch wince. Peretti was sure that Agent Hotchner was imagining that it could have been his or Dr. Reid's flesh instead of the younger man's clothes that could have been slashed to ribbons. “Ms. Lowell seems to really hate Dr. Reid and from what I found out she really has no reason to at all as he has barely had any contact with her.”  
“I'm sure you know why she hates Spencer,” Hotch commented as he studied Peretti's face.  
“Yes, I am aware it is because she is obsessed with you and considered him competition even though you never gave her any reason to think that you were interested in her,” Peretti said.  
“And I'm not,” Hotch said firmly, although it was obvious that he meant it. “Spencer and I are in a permanent and happy relationship and I have no intention of ever dating again. Some people just don't seem to understand the word permanent even if they understand that I'm with another man. A lot of people seem to think that just because you're married that you can cheat on your spouse and that's okay. Doing that has broken up more decent relationships...In any case I'm old-fashioned enough that I would never consider cheating on someone even if we were just dating and I would break up with them first, before moving on and only if I wasn't in a permanent and very happy relationship.”  
“I happen to think the same way you do,” Peretti admitted. “It might be the thing today to cheat on your spouse, but I would never think of doing that to my wife. That would be disrespectful and degrading to her and besides I love her too much to do that to her.”  
The respect that Hotch already had for the lieutenant rose several notches and he nodded in acknowledgment of Peretti's words. “Then you understand how I never could have given Brina Lowell even a first glance as I love Spencer way too much to ever consider dating anyone else. Even if he were to die, I wouldn't have looked at her or anyone else for that matter. I was married before and I never felt about Haley what I do for Spencer,” Hotch admitted something he normally never did with a near stranger, but he felt that Peretti would understand where he was coming from so he continued. “I never cheated on my wife, even though we ended up getting divorced just a few years after my son Jack was born. We maintained contact for Jack's sake and not because we loved each other anymore.”  
“You got divorced because you were gone all the time?” Peretti guessed and Hotch nodded in confirmation.   
“She didn't want to put up with me being gone so much anymore and we argued about the fact that I should have stayed an attorney instead of joining the FBI. She tried to force me into the decision of either going back to being an attorney and leaving the FBI or getting a divorce and staying with the government. You can see what choice I made.”  
“If your wife tried to force you into a decision that you really didn't want to have to make then she really didn't understand you at all,” Peretti said. “My wife understands that I became a cop because I wanted to catch the bad guys so that innocent people would be a little safer and she has never tried to get me to change careers because she knows that being a cop is essentially who I am.”  
Hotch nodded and thought that the woman Peretti was married to must truly be unique for law enforcement officers of any type were mostly bad bets as husbands or wives as most spouses wanted more attention then they had time to give and wanted their other halves to change careers simply because being in any type of law enforcement was dangerous and could get you killed almost at any time. It was a rare spouse indeed that understood being a law enforcement officer for some people well enough to put up with the long hours and the dangers of the job and maintain the marriage instead of insisting on getting a divorce.   
“Spencer is the same way and he understands why I have to be gone all the time, even if he doesn't like it and he isn't about to ask for a divorce, just because I'm gone on one type of case or another for what probably amounts to at least four or five months every year. Besides he's a writer and can come just to spend time with me and the rest of the team anytime he likes since he can write anywhere and he has the money to travel as much as he likes.”  
“So he comes and joins you sometimes in whatever city you are in just because he doesn't like being parted from you?” asked Peretti in surprise, thinking that now that was devotion. Agent Hotchner and Dr. Reid really had something special and that few people ever discovered and he Ronald Peretti was slightly envious of them. Even though he loved his wife they weren't as close as the agent and the doctor. “I'm surprised the FBI puts up with him doing that.”  
“Why do they even have to know? Spencer uses his own money when he's travelling and so there are no expense reports to write up,” Hotch pointed out logically. “Even if he doesn't get to see me much, except for breakfast and dinner and occasionally lunch, at least we can share the same bed in whatever fleabag hotel or motel our technical analyst Penelope Garcia-Morgan has booked us in.”  
Peretti nodded as that made complete sense.  
“I hope we meet again someday, Agent Hotchner, but under more pleasant circumstances,” Peretti said extending his hand.   
“I agree,” Hotch said sincerely meaning it shaking Peretti's extended hand. “It was nice meeting you Lt. Peretti and maybe someday we'll run into each other again.”  
With those words Hotch strode to the break room door opening it and disappearing down the corridor that led back into the main part of the hotel without another word.  
Peretti watched from the break room doorway as the tall form of Agent Hotchner rapidly disappeared from sight and thought, Now there is a man that deserves my respect.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So that was certainly an interesting case,” Rossi commented even as he leaned back into his seat in the FBI's small jet.  
“Exactly what are you referring to?” asked Morgan dryly looking much more rested then he had last night, although still a little tired as they all were. “The fact that the case was complicated and it was Spencer that helped us solve it? Or the fact that that manager of our hotel stalked Hotch?”  
“I was actually referring to the case as that woman really was delusional if she really believed that she could just hop into bed with Hotch and then not have to face the consequences of her actions. I watched, as we all did, as Hotch tried everything to discourage her and she didn't take the hint.”   
“Let's stop talking about it,” Hotch said who looked down at Spencer who was sprawled across several airplane seats with his head resting in his lap. “I don't even want to think about Brina Lowell ever again. I know that stalking happens sometimes when somebody becomes obsessed with a person, but that woman gave me the creeps and I truly hope she spends her years in prison reconsidering her actions.”  
“Well, if there was anyone to become obsessed over, it would be you,” Emily pointed out. “I mean you're handsome, in excellent physical shape, confident in yourself, and are in a position of authority. We all know how some women are attracted to that combination of traits.”  
“I didn't say I didn't understand why she became obsessed with me, I just said that I don't want to discuss it anymore,” Hotch told the rest of the team quite seriously. “The last week was tough enough with such a complicated case to solve without the added drama of the manager of our hotel stalking me. I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened.”  
“None of us can really blame you for wanting to just forget about it,” JJ said as she reached across the aisle to ruffle Spencer's hair a little, causing him to protest sleepily. “Spencer was hurt even if it wasn't seriously and we are all aware that it could've been much worse.”  
“I'm fine, guys, so you all can quit treating me like I'm some kind of delicate flower,” Spencer protested speaking for the first time. “I have bruises on top of bruises, a bump on my forehead and a shallow cut on my arm, but that is all.”  
“We're not treating you like you are some kind of delicate flower that needs constant attention,” Rossi told Spencer giving him a stern look causing the younger man to look away. “We would feel this way if it was one of us that was hurt in the line of duty and you're not even an official member of the unit so you never should have been hurt in the first place. I'm not disputing that you have a place on the team, but you never signed up to go out in the field and therefore the possibility of being hurt. Your help is from behind-the-scenes and that was the point JJ was trying to make. In other words you never signed up for duty and therefore you should never have been put in the line of fire.”  
Spencer considered this and then felt ashamed that he had snapped at JJ for what she had said, “I'm sorry I snapped at you JJ, I shouldn't have.”  
“It's really okay, Spence. I forgive you,” JJ assured him with a smile. “We all understand that you have been under a lot of pressure and stress the last few days and it just finally erupted. I mean trying to catch our unsub before they struck again was stressful enough, but then to have that woman stalking your partner, at least doubled the stress you were already under and unlike the rest of us you haven't been trained to deal with such situations.”  
“All of us are very happy and relieved that you weren't hurt worse then you were,” Emily added as she leaned over enough to place a kiss on Spencer's cheek causing the younger man to blush a deep red for despite the fact that he and Aaron were in a permanent relationship that didn't mean that he wasn't attracted to somebody as beautiful as Emily even if he considered her a sister just like JJ.  
“It's only thanks to Aaron's quick action that all I got was a shallow cut and various bumps and bruises,” Spencer pointed out. “I know I would have been hurt much worse if he hadn't tackled me to the floor.”  
“Like I was going to let anything happen to you,” Hotch said his tone serious as he ran a hand gently through Spencer's hair almost unconsciously. “You are my life and the rest of the team knows it,” Hotch added looking around at everyone as they all one by one nodded. “I could leave the BAU tomorrow and I would eventually get over the pain that would cause me, since my job is important to me, but if I were to lose you… that would be a different story entirely. Yes, my job is important to me, but not as important as you are and I wasn't about to lose you to some woman who had delusions of a makebelieve relationship that was never real. I'm just glad I was fast enough to prevent you from serious injuries.”  
“Well, that's what I'm obsessions are you know,” Spencer commented as he relaxed under Aaron's touch the stress and tension leaving his body. “75 percent of obsessions are about people building a makebelieve fantasy about a specific person even if that relationship never happened. In some cases the person that is the subject of the obsession have never actually met their stalker and aren't even aware that they are being followed.”  
The rest of the team relaxed for the rest of the flight and chatted causally, where Hotch's stalker and the case they had just closed was not brought up again. The plane landed many hours later and the team disembarked glad to be home for they had all missed the comfort of their own beds and in Morgan's case he had missed sharing his bed with his wife.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“It's good to be home,” Spencer sighed as he took both his and Hotch's go-bags and dropped them off by the washing machine so that they could be cleaned, not that he had many clothes in his bag considering most of his had had to be thrown away, because that madwoman had slashed most of his things.  
Spencer tried to not get all upset again as he thought about that woman Brina Lowell and all the mental anguish she had caused not only him, but Aaron as well. He knew very well that when you were obsessed you weren't in a rational frame of mind, but it still made his blood boil when he thought of how a situation that never should have happened in the first place, could have turned out much worse then it had. It wasn't so much his ruined clothes, since all he had packed was standard traveling supplies, but the rage that had gone into the act of ripping all his clothes to ribbons. None of the team, except Aaron knew how much his ripped clothes had upset him and the only reason that his lover knew was because there was no way he could have kept it from him, even if he hadn't been there to see him break down and cry he still would have known something was wrong. Normally he wasn't one to cry, but when he had seen his clothing in shreds and considering that he was not just emotionally tired, but mentally and physically, well, that had more then enough to cause his temporary mental breakdown.  
Aaron had been a Godsend and held him, soothingly stroking his back as he cried for quite awhile clutching one of his ruined shirts in his hand. Aaron had seemed to understand the emotions he was feeling and he had told Spencer after he had finished his crying bout that it was better to release his feelings then leave them all pent up to explode when he least expected and no one was there to help him through it.  
Spencer had feared for a minute that showing such a weakness would make his lover think less of him, but he should have known better, for Aaron seeming to know exactly what he was thinking had told him sternly. “I know you are thinking that I will think less of you now, but that is not possible. I love you, for who you are just like you love me for who I am. When you truly love someone, you love them for all their faults and I don't consider you temporarily breaking down after an emotionally, mentally and physically trying few days a weakness as anyone would have done the same. You should know this after almost ten years of our being together. You don't need to be perfect for me as not only is that unrealistic and not really possible, but then you wouldn't really be the man I love. We are all human and none of us are perfect.”  
Spencer remembered looking into his mate's eyes and what he saw there reassured him that Aaron truly meant what he said and it had caused him to partly relax. “Sorry,” he remembered apologizing and then turning away.   
Aaron had then forced him to turn around and look him directly in the eye before saying, “There is no need to apologize to me for crying all over my shirt. I'm actually surprised you haven't broken down much earlier considering all you've been through in the the last few days. Having your clothes ripped to shreds was just finally the last straw that caused your breakdown. I love you Spencer, no matter what, so don't say sorry to me for something that isn't your fault, but that bitch's. You don't ever have to fear me leaving you just because you're human as I meant what I told you nine almost ten years ago and that was that I was in this for the long haul and nothing has changed, nor will it.”  
He remembered having relaxed completely at that and he knew that deep down he had been stupid to fear Aaron thinking less of him just because he broke down and cried for the first time since he was ten and his father left, but his old insecurities had reared their ugly heads, but luckily Aaron had put his fears to rest with just a few words.  
“I believe my fear of you thinking less of me stems from childhood,” said Spencer his analytical mind finally getting back on track, although it as well as the rest of him were still very tired.   
“That doesn't surprise me in the least,” Hotch said as he held the other man close to him knowing that Spencer needed to be reassured that he wasn't going to leave. “From all I know of your father, he is a right bastard. How and what we are taught as children has a lot to do with who we grow up to be.”  
“Yes, that's true,” Spencer admitted. “Children learn by example and my father is not the best one out there didn't spend much time with me, especially when it became obvious that I wasn't any good or even interested in sports, so that's probably at least partly why I turned out totally different from him.”  
“I don't think so,” said Hotch shaking his head. “I think you turned out so well, because you knew even as a child that your father was not who you wanted to emulate. Children learn not only from their parents, but by the world around them and that is why so many that have at least one lousy parent turn out so well. You would never abandon Lochlan, Landon or Jack, just because they didn't turn out the way you imagined they would, like your father did you. It's clear to me that your father didn't really love you or your mother at all or he never would have left when things got difficult or because you didn't turn out like he wanted you too. No, William Reid is a sorry, no good, excuse for a man and even though I know you share his genes and certain traits of his you are nothing like him.”  
Spencer had felt something within him relax completely at Aaron's words and he had kissed his lover passionately pouring all his feelings into it to which his mate had responded immediately. Unfortunately for both of them they were both too exhausted to even think about making love so instead they had fallen asleep in each others arms, which had indeed been very pleasant, just like it always was.  
“Dad, Uncle Spencer you're home!” Jack cheered charging out of his room, where he had been playing on the computer.  
“Hi, buddy,” Hotch greeted his son prepared for the tackle hug that Jack normally greeted him with when he arrived home after being gone on a case. “Are you okay, Uncle Spencer?” Jack asked as soon as he finished greeting his father and noticed the bump with a highly picturesque bruise around it that had now turned a dark black with some blue throughout.  
“I'm fine, Jack,” Spencer told the boy who was growing up way too fast on him and Aaron both. “Your father and I just had a little trouble while we were gone that's all.”  
“What kind of trouble?” asked Jack looking genuinely interested and curious.   
Spencer looked at Aaron then who nodded and so he said carefully, “Your father was having trouble with a stalker while he was gone and when I arrived things just got worse.”  
Spencer carefully explained the whole story to Jack leaving out the part about his slashed clothes and how he had broken down after seeing all his who things slashed to ribbons. Jack listened intently to Spencer's story with Aaron adding his bit every now and then.  
“Your father saved me from a worst injury at least by tackling me like he did which is why I have the bump on my forehead,” Spencer finished.  
“You sure you're okay?” Jack asked in obvious concern as he gave his uncle a careful hug to where Spencer put his arms around the boy's waist hugging him back.  
“The medicals gave me a clean bill of health and told me I should expect to be sore for the next few days, but that otherwise I was fine.”  
Sara who had been listening from the doorway finally spoke up and asked, “Who would like a snack?”  
“I would,” Jack said as he raced into the kitchen the three adults looking after him shaking their heads in amusement. Jack always seemed to be hungry, but then again he was also a teenager and teenage boys in particular seemed to have bottomless pits for stomachs.  
“You sure you're okay?” Sara asked Spencer as she studied him quickly.   
“I'm fine,” Spencer promised the older woman who looked exceedingly worried, kissing her cheek.  
“I hope that woman goes to prison,” Sara said looking fierce and protective, but then again she considered Spencer and Hotch both part of her family so it was no wonder.  
“Don't worry, that is exactly where she's heading for at least the next 10 to 15 years,” Hotch promised the housekeeper. “I truly hope she considers her actions and becomes a better person once she gets out.”  
“Well, good,” Sara said looking relieved. “At least that's one less thing I have to worry about.”  
Hotch and Spencer nodded and then the three of them headed to the kitchen in order to join Jack in his snack and spend time together as a family.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Later that night

“Are you sure you're okay?” Hotch asked Spencer softly as he looked up and down his lover's body and saw the various bruises from where he had hit the floor hard.  
“I am,” Spencer promised. “My bruises will heal and once they do we can forget that the incident with Brina Lowell ever happened.”  
“I'll never be able to forget,” Hotch said seriously as he kissed the bump on his mate's forehead gently.  
“Neither will I, but that doesn't mean we need to dwell on it. We both need to put it behind us and realize that things like that do happen occasionally as they're are a lot of deranged people in the world,” Spencer said gently as Hotch continued to to kiss his various bruises. “Let's go to bed and we can help each other to forget about what just happened.”   
“I don't want to hurt you,” Hotch protested, although it was clear there was no other thing he would rather be doing then making love to the man he adored.  
“You won't and in fact you make me feel better just with your mere touch,” Spencer told his mate kissing him on the lips, which Hotch returned passionately. “Besides there's no way in hell I'm going to put off making love for the next two or three weeks while all these bruises disappear. There's no way I could stop myself from making love to you for that long unless I actually had a broken bone. Ever since I met you I've turned into something of a sex fiend as I was never much interested in the sexual act until after we had met. To me you are absolutely irresistible.”  
Hotch chuckled at that for he absolutely agreed with Spencer's reasoning. “Very well then, I'll let you be on top for the next few days until you heal up a little, so that I don't hurt you on accident.”  
Spencer looked surprised as he hadn't been expecting this concession, although he should have for his Aaron was always very considerate of his needs.  
“You don't need to do that for me, Aaron, not that I don't appreciate it. Sure I'm a little sore, but really it's nothing major even though I'll be popping Tylenol for the next few days in order to be able to move freely.”  
“I insist,” Hotch said kissing Spencer on the forehead again right where the bump was. “You earned it, besides I have to admit I've been wanting to feel you inside me for the last few days and we haven't had time to do more then a couple of quickies in the least week or so, since we were concentrating so much on catching our wily unsub and even after we were back at the hotel we were so tired that mostly all we did was sleep.”  
Spencer blushed at Aaron's words for it wasn't often that his lover admitted that he needed to feel his mate's cock inside his body and this was one of those very rare occasions. “Well alright, so long as you know I don't need you to treat me like I'm made out of spun glass that is going to break at the slightest bit of pressure.”  
“No, I don't think that, I never could,” Hotch assured his mate giving him a very passionate lingering kiss on the lips. “I just feel like I need to feel you inside me to reconfirm our bond after all we've been through in the last few days.”  
His lover sounded so vulnerable, which was not a normal emotion for Aaron Hotchner, so Spencer's heart immediately went out to him and made him realize that his mate had been under a great deal of pressure for the last week or so and although Aaron handled pressure better then most people he still needed to confirm for himself that they were both okay, that they had survived.  
“Alright then,” Spencer agreed now that he knew his mate wasn't doing it out of pity for his bruises or because he believed his lover was made out of spun glass. He was ceding control to him, because he wanted his touch and in fact needed his touch after what had happened with Brina Lowell, which wasn't all that surprising once he thought about it for a few seconds as he knew that even Aaron Hotchner was human with a human's weaknesses. “First I believe the both of us need a nice long, hot shower. It will help with my sore muscles for one thing...” Spencer paused and Hotch knew immediately that his lover had other plans besides them taking a shower together. If they had really just wanted to get clean they would have taken showers separately since they tended to take much more time if they shared one. Not to mention wasted quite a bit of hot water, Hotch thought with an inner smirk as he remembered some of those shower sessions.  
“I'll go get the shower started,” Hotch offered immediately and headed to the bathroom with a spring in his step.  
“Make sure it's nice and hot,” Spencer called after him, “as hot as you can stand.”  
This was one thing that they differed in, Spencer liked his showers hot enough he felt as if his skin was being boiled, while Hotch had nothing against a hot shower, but he didn't like it so hot he felt as if his skin was being burned away.  
As Spencer heard his lover turn on the shower he started getting out of his clothes more slowly than normal because he was more sore than he had indicated to Aaron since he didn't want his lover to worry about him anymore then he already was.  
Finally he was completely naked and headed to the bathroom to find his lover also buck naked and his clothes in a pile in the corner where they wouldn't get wet. Spencer noticed immediately that his Aaron's cock was already standing at attention and half hard, which made his own member respond in turn.  
“Well, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?” Spencer said as he entered the shower stall gesturing for Hotch to join him.  
Hotch's lips curved up in a smile and he immediately joined Spencer in the shower that was big enough for at least three people, closing the door behind him.  
The hot water poured down on both of them relaxing Spencer's sore muscles, although it did nothing about either his cock or Aaron's.  
“I have plans for this,” Spencer told his lover gently taken Aaron's cock, which was at least 8 or 9 inches long and fairly thick in one hand.  
“Do with it and me whenever you want, for both of us are yours completely,” Hotch told the younger man his dark brown eyes intense, with love, desire and lust.  
Spencer looked up into his mate's eyes and seemed to find what he was looking for because he nodded decisively and immediately knelt down on his knees so that he would have easier access to his lover's cock.  
“You belong to me, don't you?” asked Spencer more forcefully then when he usually spoke, but he knew right now Aaron needed him to be the alpha male if only for a few hours. Spencer knew without Aaron ever having to say the words that him being hurt even if it was fairly minor had really shaken him up.  
“I do,” Hotch agreed immediately and passionately, “body and soul.”  
“Good, you better never forget that or you will regret it,” Spencer said his tone unusually harsh.  
Hotch looked into his mate's warm brown eyes and realized immediately, that Spencer was playing a role, the role of alpha male, because that was what he needed at this moment. He needed someone else to take charge if only for a few hours and Spencer had realized that without having to be told. His, Spencer had realized what he really needed, long before he, himself had, which wasn't surprising considering that they knew each other extremely well.  
“I never could,” Hotch assured the other man immediately. “I belong to you every single part of me. My heart, my body, my soul, my mind, and especially my manhood, every single part that makes me who I am belongs only to you. No one else will ever touch me intimately like you do or see me naked. You are the other half of my soul and without you I am incomplete.”  
“Good,” Spencer said in a satisfied sort of tone as he could tell immediately that is Aaron meant his words and inwardly he was pleased, although he didn't let it show as right now he was playing a role, but afterwards he would be happy to show his mate how much his words had truly meant to him.  
Spencer took Aaron's cock into his mouth and slowly begin to suck on the tip and Hotch immediately groaned leaning back against the shower wall as his legs suddenly felt too weak to support his weight. Spencer's mouth was warm and wet that the suction felt wonderful against his aching cock  
Spencer flickered his tongue over the tip of Aaron's cock and then slowly began to take more of his lover's engorged member into his mouth. Spencer knew from experience that Aaron's cock was so big and long that he couldn't swallow the whole thing, without engaging his gag reflex, so what he did was take as much as he could into his mouth without doing that and used his hand on the little bit that remained at the base moving it up and down while his mouth continued to suck on the rest of it.  
Aaron continued to groan almost continuously as Spencer's mouth was warm and wet and felt like heaven to his big engorged, hardened member, his mate's teeth scraping up and down on the sensitive skin. The things that his mate could do with his mouth were almost sinful and should definitely be illegal, but Hotch loved every single one so long as they were used on his body alone.  
“I'm going to come,” Hotch warned suddenly as he felt himself nearing his climax, which had been building for the last few minutes.  
Spencer didn't respond verbally just started to suck harder and it was only a few seconds later when Hotch's cock all, but exploded into Spencer's mouth and down his throat. Spencer gulped several times, swallowing everything that his mate's cock had to give and when he finally released Aaron's member from his mouth he licked his lips immediately making sure he got every single drop, before it was washed away.  
Hotch watched as his mate immediately licked his lips after he had released his cock and thought that it was one of the most erotic things he had ever seen in his life, but then to him his Spencer was a walking, talking advertisement of sexiness, not that many people would agree with him, which was really just as well.  
“I love you,” Hotch told his mate hoarsely not being able to move away from the wall that was supporting him at the moment as his legs still felt as weak as a newborn's.  
“I love you too,” Spencer assured him very pleased at the fact that he had caused such a reaction in his mate, because unless he was mistaken Aaron's legs were to weak to support him at the moment, which was why he was leaning against the tiled wall of the shower. “Would you like me to wash your body or would you rather do it yourself?”   
“You're welcome to do it,” Hotch answered immediately as he knew that Spencer's tender, gentle touch would feel absolutely heavenly on his body and every once in awhile he enjoyed being taken care of instead of the other way around. He had never allowed himself to be taken care of before he met Spencer, but now he occasionally enjoyed it just so long as it was his mate who was doing it and no one else.  
Spencer nodded and got one of the washcloths off the towel rack that was positioned just above his head and covered it in soap until it was nice and slick. After he had done that he scooted forward just enough to where he was within easy reach of Aaron's body and begin to run the washcloth over his chest slowly and sensually adding kisses every few seconds.  
Aaron groaned and thought that the hot washcloth felt wonderful as it made its way all over his body slowly, add in the kisses and he was in heaven. He knew that Spencer was taking his time on purpose so that they could both enjoy the experience and he certainly was enjoying it and he knew Spencer was as well.  
“Can I wash you after you are done?” asked Aaron sounding unusually tentative.   
“Of course,” Spencer assured him with a sensual smile that lit up not only his face, but his golden brown eyes. “I'm looking forward to it as I expect the same treatment that I just gave you.”  
Hotch nodded eagerly for he couldn't wait to run his hands all over his mate's body barely separated by a thin washcloth.  
Finally Spencer ordered gently, “Turn around and let me wash your back and then you can do the same to me.”  
Hotch did as he was ordered and he immediately felt the washcloth gently gliding over his back in smooth short strokes and then the washcloth moved down to his butt. Hotch almost groaned as Spencer cleaned that as well with the soaped up washcloth also placing kisses over every single inch of it. Finally Spencer stuck his tongue into his Aaron's anus, moving it around and licking up all the liquid it had produced and gently stroking the inside of it. Hotch groaned as pleasure so intense it was almost unreal surged through him and he knew he was about to climax for the second time just since they had been in the shower. He had never had multiple climaxes in such a short span of time or at least not since he had been a young man, and he definitely wasn't 20 anymore, but Hotch knew that it was because of Spencer and that his mate had no idea the effect that he had on him or it was possible that he did since he was so intelligent.  
Hotch's knees went weak for the second time as Spencer continued what he was doing and he barely kept himself from falling and only because he used on hand to brace himself against the shower wall.  
Inwardly Spencer was pleased at his lover's reaction to his treatment, although he didn't say anything. After Spencer was done with Aaron's butt it wasn't long at all until Hotch felt the washcloth on the back of his legs stroking them up and down gently.   
“There,” Spencer said just a minute later, “all done, except your hair.”  
Hotch turned back around and Spencer kissed him on the lips. “Now that I've done your body you have permission to do mine.”   
Hotch immediately looked eager. “It will be a pleasure.”  
Spencer handed his mate the soap and a washcloth without a word and Hotch immediately soaped up the material before putting the bar back on the ledge.  
Hotch immediately began running the washcloth over Spencer's chest and was happy as his mate begin to purr softly almost like a contented cat.  
“You have my permission to do whatever you want with me,” Spencer told him softly his voice already beginning to sound strained and Hotch hadn't done anything to him yet.  
Hotch nodded and stood up a little straighter for his meant that he was being given permission to have his way with his mate's body while he was playing the role of alpha male and deep inside Spencer's little gesture meant everything to him.  
Hotch finished cleaning off Spencer's chest and immediately moved down until he was kneeling like Spencer had been just a few minutes ago and running the washcloth up and down one of his legs and once he was done with that he switched and did the other.  
Spencer turned around until his back was facing his mate without a word, although he had trouble, because his legs were feeling very wobbly and weak, which Hotch immediately noticed making him grin inwardly pleased. Hotch immediately started running the washcloth over the other man's back and legs.   
“There, all clean,” Hotch said a minute later.  
Spencer turned back around.  
“Good we can wash our hair later,” Spencer ordered gruffly. “For now I think it's time we turn off the shower as we've been in here quite long enough and head to the bed, because I have plans I am going to put into motion, ones that will please both of us.”  
Hotch got to his feet and looked into Spencer's golden brown eyes to see the anticipation and calculation in them and if was then he knew that his lover did indeed have plans and he would enjoy immensely whatever those plans were as his mate could be very inventive in bed.  
Spencer opened the shower door after turning off the water and strode to the bathroom door opening it as well, although he waited for Hotch to join him which he did immediately.  
Hotch knew that Spencer was not really the alpha male type, but he was capable of playing the role for a few hours if that was what he, his mate needed. Hotch knew for a fact that Spencer could never have played the alpha male with anyone else, but him since he was one of the few people that Spencer felt comfortable enough to play such a role with and the only one that was allowed to see him so vulnerable and he wasn't just talking about the fact that he was buck naked, but emotionally vulnerable. To anybody else he was the man in charge, who's orders were to be obeyed without question, even to the rest of the team, though he trusted them just as much as he did Spencer.  
“Lay down on the bed, on your back, pillow under you hips,” Spencer ordered and Hotch obeyed immediately since the bed was already turned down. Spencer joined Aaron on the bed, putting his knee in between his lover's legs that were spread apart.  
“Now what I want you to do is suck on my very painful cock and then instead of swallowing my seed like you normally do I want you to release it from your mouth when I tell you to. I want you so badly that I am not going to have time to be gentle or prepare you so when I shove my cock into your hole it is going to be very painful. I know you said that you needed confirmation that we had both managed to get through the last week alive and whole, well I need that confirmation to.”  
“Do whatever you have to,” Hotch told his mate as gently as he could manage. He was looking forward to what was to come even if he knew it would be at least twice as painful as normal if not three times, simply because their would be no time for the needed lubrication, but then again they were both still dripping wet from their showers so perhaps that would be enough.  
Spencer nodded and Hotch immediately started sucking on his mate's cock gently at first, but then harder as Spencer's cock was so responsive to stimulation that it caused very strong reactions in the younger man.  
Spencer purred like a car engine and tried his best to not move around to much as intense waves of mind numbing pleasure went through his entire body, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. All too soon Spencer could feel himself on the verge of his climax and so he warned, “I'm about to come.” It was no more than a couple of minutes later for he had already been half hard before they had even started just from his mate washing every inch of his body, tenderly and with visible reverence, naked on his face.  
Hotch released his mate's cock as he had been ordered to do, although it was clear he would have rather kept up with what he was doing until his lover released his seed into his mouth and then down his throat. Spencer immediately got his penis into position and shoved it into Aaron's tight hole without ceremony knowing that he didn't have time to be gentle as he already felt as if he was about to explode from the sexual tension coiled tightly within his body and he was preventing himself from going over the edge by sheer force of will. As soon as he had roughly shoved his cock into his mate's hole he didn't have time to pull it out or push it in an even once before it violently released it's seed deep into Aaron's body.  
Both men climaxed violently immediately together and both couldn't say anything at all as they were to consumed with the waves and waves of intense mind consuming pleasure that was going through both their bodies.  
It was sometime later that both men felt their climaxes subside and both didn't feel like moving for quite awhile afterwards.  
Hotch thought about the fact that Spencer had willingly taken on his usual role of being in charge just because he had needed him to if only for a short time and the love he felt for the man cuddled at his side intensified by several degrees. Hotch and Spencer's relationship had been more than satisfactory for the last almost 10 years, and he had believed that he loved his mate with every fiber of his being but now he knew he had been fooling himself as his love for the man beside him had risen several levels in the last couple of hours.  
“You all better now?” Spencer asked his voice sleepy and his eyes only halfway open.   
“Yes,” Hotch said as he kissed top of his mate's head with reverence. “I needed you to take on the role of alpha male for a few hours and you did it without me even having to ask. I needed you to be in charge, to confirm to me that both of us got out of that attempt on our lives with only minor injuries to you. We both were damn lucky and I know that for if she had only stood behind the door instead of being across the room we probably never would've known what was coming until it was too late and you would have been hurt worse then a mere scratch, maybe even fatally.”  
“That's the problem with stalkers, research has been done extensively on the subject as I'm sure you know,” Spencer said sounding sleepy. “Most of them feel the need to announce their intentions before taking action, which is why you had time to tackle me to get me out of harm's way before she could stab me through the heart as I'm sure was her intention.”  
Both men shuddered at that as they thought about what could have happened.  
“Luckily, for me your fast actions saved me from at least more serious injuries then I obtained. She was coming at me so fast and yet all I could do was stand there stunned like an unmovable statue.” Spencer sounded disgusted with himself.  
“Don't beat yourself up,” Hotch told his mate gently as he started to stroke Spencer's back soothingly. “You haven't been trained to react like I have. I'm just glad I was fast enough to save you from more serious injuries or worse.”  
“You could've shot her, you know,” Spencer commented.  
“No I couldn't have, as for one thing you were in the way and she was so close to you by the time I finally tackled you that it's possible she still could have managed to stab you as I wouldn't have shot to kill, but injure. I really prefer to bring suspects in alive, although as you know I have had to kill occasionally in my job, but I only do it as an absolute last resort.”  
Spencer went back over that few minutes in his mind, it had happened so fast, but he believed that Aaron was correct and Brina Lowell had been incredibly close to him, so if his lover had shot her there was a good chance that he would have been hit with the bullet, or at least stabbed with the knife in a more vulnerable spot then his arm, like his chest or stomach for example.  
“You're right,” Spencer admitted. “You did the right thing, the only thing you could do to protect me and yourself.”  
Hotch relaxed at his mate's words and started to feel like maybe they could put the whole situation that had happened just because one woman was obsessed with him finally behind them. Oh they would always remember what had happened, but there was no need to feel guilty about a situation that neither had caused.  
“How are your sore muscles feeling?” asked Hotch.   
“They're okay, for right now,” Spencer said as he slowly tested his arm muscles. “I'm sure I'll be sore and stiff in the morning after laying still all night, but it's nothing that a couple of Tylenol won't cure and in a week or so I should stop being so sore all the time.”  
“I'm sorry that that woman's obsession got you hurt, but I'm not sorry that you only got a cut instead of ending up in the hospital,” Hotch said. “I realize that the situation could have turned out much worse and that we really were very lucky.”  
“We were,” Spencer agreed, “and there's no reason for you to feel guilty, because I know you do. Just imagine what would have happened if I had gone up to the room alone for whatever reason and I for one am sure the results wouldn't have been half as good as there is no way I could have grappled with her and won, because as you said she was desperate and that desperation would've leant her strength, so it's just as well that we all went out to dinner after your unsub was caught and that we went back up to our room together, instead of me going by myself.”  
Hotch shuddered for that was not a possibility that he had thought of, although he knew he should have. “Thank goodness for small favors,” Hotch said fervently.  
“Yes, luck was really with us that time, if I believed in such things that is,” Spencer said with a small smile.   
“Are you going to stop coming with us on cases now that you know how dangerous it is?” asked Hotch just a little curiously, leaving that decision up to his mate as to whether or not he wanted to stop being a consultant, although everything within him screamed to forbid Spencer from ever helping them on a case again, just so he would be safe. Hotch knew from experience though that people need freedom of choice and to forbid Spencer from ever helping the team out on a case again was one sure way to ruin their relationship or at least have a major argument. He was still tempted to forbid his mate from ever helping them again just because of the danger factor, but Hotch let his common sense instead of his protective instincts control that part of him, for he knew if the words ever left his mouth he and Spencer would have a knockdown drag out fight about his continuing being a consultant and Hotch wanted to avoid that if he could. On the other hand though Spencer had been helping them for close to 8 years and this was the first such incident so while it could be dangerous so really this was just a hopefully one time thing.  
“No,” Spencer said sounding determined, “because I know you realize that even if I hadn't been involved in that particular case something could've happened while I was walking down the street or running in the park. You know in other words it could have happened anywhere, at any time as there are a lot of kooks and dangerous people in the world. The only way to avoid danger completely is to put yourself in a glass bubble or lock yourself in a room and never leave it. We all live in the world and I am not about to let this one incident prevent me from helping you and the rest of the team out on cases when you need me or for me to travel to spend time with you even if it's only to sleep in the same bed and eat together. I know you want to forbid me from ever helping you out on a case again as it is your natural instinct to protect the people that you love, and I thank you for giving me the choice. I know that you also realize that if you did try to forbid me from ever helping you out again we would have a fight about it and I really don't want that.”   
Hotch chuckled a little as he should've known that Spencer would figure out what he was thinking as his mate really did know him quite well. “Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. You really do know me a little to well,” Hotch admitted a little sheepishly. “I'm afraid that was alpha male in me, but then my common sense took over and knew that I had to give you a choice as to whether you wanted to continue helping the BAU solve cases. You're right that the world is a dangerous place and you could be hurt just shopping for groceries so as much as I want to no, I won't forbid you from helping out since I know you really like doing that since it uses your mind to a fuller extent then writing novels does as I'm aware that hardly takes any of your immense brain power.”  
“So to deliberately change the subject when do you think Ginny's triplets are going to be born?” Hotch was startled for the moment at the abrupt change of subject then realized why Spencer had done it. Really there was no point of talking about the previous subject anymore and so Spencer had changed the subject deliberately so that they could both get their minds off the incident of just yesterday. “Well the Potters letter did say that they were due sometime in mid-June, which could be anywhere from the 10th to the 15th and since multiples almost always arrive early, which you told me yourself, I figure sometime in late May. I don't really know much about childbirth, but I do know that more than a month or six weeks early and the baby might not survive as they probably won't be developed enough to live outside their mother's womb.”  
“Actually a baby can survive out of the womb at 32 weeks which is 8 months instead of 8 ½, although I'm not sure the percentage is the same for multiples,” Spencer corrected, “and there is medical technology now that will breath for the baby if their lungs are underdeveloped, although I'm not sure of the wizarding world has the equivalent.”  
“I stand corrected,” Hotch said with a smile in his voice.  
“The main reason I brought the subject up though is do you think we'll be able to go to see the triplets after they're born?” Spencer asked sounding eager. “I know your job makes it difficult to make any plans for the future since I know you can be called away at practically any moment.”   
“Well, we might not be able to see them right after they're born, but we will go perhaps on a weekend even if it's after Harry, Ginny and the triplets are back home. For all we know they might have to stay in the hospital for awhile, before they can go home, but I suppose we won't know until after their births in a few months time.”  
“You're right,” Spencer conceded after a moment. “I just have to hope that all three are in good health when they're born and that they don't come to early. I really want to see them right after they're born, but I don't want to go without you so if you can't go, because you have to work I don't plan on going either.”  
“There's no point of worrying about it this early,” Hotch said practically, “as we still have several months before they will be born. Now I suggest that we try to get some sleep because I for one have to work in the morning.”   
“Alright,” Spencer agreed yawning widely. “I love you, Aaron,” the younger man mumbled as he buried his head in Hotch's broad shoulder.  
“I love you too,” Hotch told his mate softly kissing the top of the head before he to succumbed to sleep

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So you should be home about 5:30, right?” Spencer asked Aaron on the morning of their tenth wedding anniversary, which was January 20.  
“I should be unless we get called on a case,” Hotch said hoping sincerely that wouldn't happen as he had made plans and reservations at a very nice restaurant.  
“If you do happen to get called on a case on our anniversary just expect me to follow you to whatever city you're heading to and we can have dinner there,” Spencer said, “even if it's a day or two late.”  
Unfortunately this had already happened several times in the 10 years they had been married and when the children had been younger Spencer hadn't been able to drop everything and just travel to wherever Aaron was, but now that they were teenagers and almost grown-ups he could do what he wanted and travel at a moment's notice, since he could write anywhere and really it was only Jack he had to worry about since the twins were in school and wouldn't be home for the summer until mid-June.  
“I refuse to be parted from you on our anniversary, especially now that Jack is old enough to look after himself for a day or two with only Sara here,” Spencer said.  
“I agree wholeheartedly,” Hotch said as he kissed his lover on the lips gently only to have it immediately returned enthusiastically. “I'm hoping we won't be called because I made reservations at a very fine restaurant.”  
“Well, if you are, we can just have dinner at another nice place in whatever city we're in,” Spencer pointed out.   
“Unless the team gets called to a small town that only has a café or diner type place,” Hotch said playing devil's advocate.  
“Don't be so pessimistic, love,” Spencer told his lover cheerfully, “Things will work out they always do in the end, even if we have to have our anniversary a few days late like we've had to do a few times when the children were young.”  
Hotch smiled at Spencer's cheerfulness. Spencer was almost always cheerful now and had been ever since the two of them had gotten together and every obstacle was just plowed through without him usually losing that. It took a lot to get Spencer upset, like what had happened to Harry, just as an example.  
“I am perfectly willing to travel to wherever you are just so we can be together on our anniversary and nothing else really matters, except being wherever you are, not even a nice dinner. Having dinner at a nice place is just extra packaging so to speak.”   
“Well, you are certainly being very accommodating,” Hotch teased him a little since his Spencer was usually very easy to please and had often told him that he was a simple man with simple tastes and didn't need a lot of fancy dinners or presents to be happy. Oh he believed in celebrating events like wedding anniversaries or birthdays, but he didn't absolutely have to have a present or a nice dinner out in order to be content with his lot just as long as the two of them were together. Hotch had always thought that Spencer should've been born in the 20s or 30s when things were much simpler with no computers or all the technology they had today but he was also glad that his lover had been born when he was because hey never would have met or fallen in love if he had not. Of course perhaps Ginny was right and they had been meant to meet because they were soulmates meant to meet and to be together through more than one life. Hotch wasn't sure he believed in reincarnation and knew that his lover felt the same, but he did believe that Spencer was the other half of his soul and that they were soulmates and nothing else really mattered.  
“I am a simple man with simple taste,” Spencer told Aaron with a grin knowing that his lover was just teasing him.   
“Yes, I know,” Hotch said with a smile giving his lover a kiss on the lips. “Still we so rarely get to go out anywhere that I really want to make our reservation if at all possible.”  
“I agree that it would be nice,” Spencer admitted, “spending time alone with you is a rare commodity as there is usually at least one other person present if not several.”  
“Don't worry we'll work it out,” Hotch promised him, “we always do.”  
“Yes, we do,” Spencer agreed with a smile. “Now you had better head into work before you're late. Just make sure you call me if you have to leave for a case.”   
“I will,” Hotch promised as he gave his lover one last kiss before he headed for the door.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“I'm truly sorry, baby,” Hotch said into the phone as he talked to his lover. “We've just caught a case and will probably be gone for several days. I'm afraid I won't be there for our anniversary.”  
“Why don't I just join you on the jet?” Spencer suggested calmly as he had been aware that this was a very likely possibility and so wasn't upset, although he was a little frustrated, although not at Aaron since it was hardly his fault. “Who knows maybe I can help you solve this case faster than you would otherwise and we can also be together. We might even find time to go out for a nice dinner.”  
“That would be great,” Hotch said cheering up considerably at the thought of having Spencer with him and the rest of the team instead of being parted from him, especially on their anniversary. “Are you sure I'm not pulling you away from anything important?”   
“No, what did I tell you this before you left this morning?” asked Spencer, knowing that his lover just needed to be reminded of what he had said.  
“That us being together on our anniversary was more important then anything else,” Hotch answered immediately.   
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed, “so no I don't have anything more important going on then being with you as much as possible while you're in the midst of solving this case, which hopefully won't turn out to be too complicated and your unsub easily caught.”  
“From your mouth to God's ear,” Hotch said fervently. “Can you make it to the airport and the jet in say two hours?”  
“If I hurry,” Spencer said.   
“We'll see you there then,” Hotch said. “Don't be late or we'll be forced to leave without you and I don't want that.”   
“All right,” Spencer agreed. “Luckily, I always keep a bag packed for emergencies as you know, so I can be ready to go in 45 minutes or so. Exactly where are we headed before I forget to ask?”  
“Las Vegas,” Hotch said knowing what Spencer's reaction was going to be.   
“Las Vegas? Are you serious? My old hometown? What are the odds? And on our anniversary no less.”  
“If you don't want to come...” Hotch suggested hesitatingly.   
“No, I'll be there,” Spencer promised firmly. “I can visit my mother since I'm going to be in town anyway. I just hope that I don't run into my father since we haven't seen each other more than 3 time in over 27 years and he definitely doesn't know about us.”  
“Well, if we do run into him I will be at your side and I really don't care what his reaction is to the fact that we are together as it is none of his damn business and I don't give a shit whether he knows and accepts our relationship or not,” Hotch said and the steel in his voice let Spencer know that he was going to give William Reid a piece of his mind if they did happen to cross paths, although his lover wouldn't go looking for a confrontation.  
Spencer's mood lightened considerably at Hotch's words and he said almost with his usual good cheer, “I'll see you at the airport in a couple of hours.”   
“Alright then,” Hotch agreed, “I'll tell the rest of the team that you're tagging along so they won't be surprised. Do you want me to tell them why or would you rather tell them when we're all together?”   
“Well, they should remember it's our wedding anniversary considering they were there, but I suppose they will probably be distracted with thinking about this case,” Spencer said. “You can go ahead and tell them if you want as it's not like a big secret. I would prefer you not to mention the possibility of running into my father, at least not until we're both together.”   
“Alright,” Hotch agreed. “I better let you go now so that you can do whatever you need to finish getting ready for going on a trip at very short notice.”  
“I'll see you on the plane,” Spencer agreed. “I love you.”   
“I love you too, baby,” Hotch assured him before hanging up.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Hello, everyone,” Spencer greeted the rest of the team as he entered the FBI's small private jet that was used to transport the whole team on cases.  
“Hey, Spence,” JJ was the first to greet him getting up from her seat to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
“Hi, JJ,” Spencer greeted his sister in all but blood.  
“So how have you been doing, kid?” Morgan asked his friend.   
“I've been doing just fine,” Spencer assured everyone.  
“Are you all recovered from what happened on that case a few weeks ago?” Emily asked as her eyes obviously scanned up and down Spencer's body looking for any remaining injuries not finding any as even the bump on his head was all healed.  
“There's no need to worry, I'm fine,” Spencer told Emily firmly. “I did have a few nightmares, but I suppose that's understandable considering.”  
“All of us had a few nightmares,” JJ admitted looking at the rest of the team who nodded including Hotch. “I mean we were all lucky that it turned out as well as it did as it could have been much worse because at least you could've ended up in the hospital with a serious stab wound.”  
“I know very well how lucky I was,” Spencer told everyone, “so let's not talk about it anymore I just want to forget about it as there's no point of bringing up painful memories. I'm sure you all realize that some people become just very easily obsessed and that's what happened with Brina Lowell. A lot of times those of obsessions end in a double murder since the person who is obsessed tend to kill the object of his or her obsession and then themselves.”  
“Why do you think I said you were damn lucky,” Emily pointed out passionately before they dropped the subject completely. “Losing you, especially in such a way, would have destroyed Hotch and don't think that everybody on this plane doesn't know it. We all know how close you two are, much closer then 99% of other relationships.”  
“And it would have left a huge hole in the rest of us to, don't ever doubt that,” JJ added.  
“I know it as Hotch and I have already discussed this subject at great length. I could be killed going to the grocery store, or running in the park or simply in a car accident as there are thousands of ways to die and none of them are pleasant, except perhaps for old age. You can't stop living your life just because of one little incident, for if you do, even though that person will never know it, they've won.”  
The rest of the team considered Spencer's words and then found that they had to agree with them, for you couldn't stop living your life just because of the possibility that you might be hurt or killed while doing your normal routine.  
Spencer sat down beside Hotch in the seat that had been left for him just as the engine begin to roar and the plane began to move down the taxiway.  
“So a little bird told us that one of the reasons you're coming along is that today is yours and Hotch's wedding anniversary,” Rossi commented after a few minutes of silence. By this time the plane was in the air and heading to Las Vegas.   
“Yes, it is, as you all should know since you were there when we got married. It's just our luck though that you guys have to catch a case on the same day as our anniversary,” Spencer answered.  
“Well, at least you can come with us so you can spend time together even if it's not exactly how you wanted it to be,” Morgan pointed out. “Believe me I know what you talking about as I missed several important dates with my baby girl, and we haven't been married, but a little over a year. Penny understands that I don't want to miss things like her birthday, but that it can't be helped and I always make sure to make it up to her in any case and unlike you she can't travel with us since she does have a job.”  
“You are one of those rare breed that understand the commitment that the FBI requires and don't resent Hotch for being gone so much,” JJ said. “That's one of the reasons that Will left you know because I was gone so much with the team and he wasn't willing to stick around and work it out.”  
“Then he didn't really love you,” Spencer told JJ with certainty. “If you truly love someone you stick around and work out whatever problems you are having and don't abandon them at the first possible opportunity. No relationship is perfect as every couple has their own problems and if you truly love someone you stay around and try to work those problems out instead of leaving somebody in the lurch. Aaron and I agreed before we ever made our relationship official that we would never abandon the other and that we would work out any problems.”  
Hotch nodded when the rest of the team looked at him as if to say yes we did agree to always work out whatever our problems were and never abandon the other just because of a major spat.  
“And here I thought that you and Hotch never had any problems,” Emily teased her friend knowing that Spencer and Hotch were bound to have had a few arguments over the last 10 years, but that they were both very private people and weren't about to air those problems even to the rest of the team who were as close as a family.   
Spencer turned to her with a raised eyebrow as if to say 'are you nuts?' “Every couple has their problems, Emily and you should know that. Just because we don't air them in public doesn't mean we haven't had our spats, but we always work it out and in the end forgive each other. That's really what a relationship is all about forgiving something that is said out of anger just because of the heat of the moment. Unlike popular belief relationships take work to keep on solid ground and a lot of couples just are not willing to put in that much effect, so of course they fail. Life is not always a bed of roses as sometimes there're thorns in your path. It is how you navigate those thorns that makes your life worth living.” Spencer quoted softly.  
Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they tried to translate Spencer's last few words into normal English and they all finally realized that he was talking about his and Hotch's marriage and how it wasn't always easy as that is what the thorns represented, but it was worth it in the end, represented by the roses.  
“That is so romantic and sweet,” JJ finally declared looking wistful. She looked at Hotch and noticed that her boss had a small smile playing on his lips as he had translated Spencer's words much more easily than the rest of the team if only because he lived with the other man and was used a translating the way he spoke as sometimes he said things that didn't make a lot of sense until you thought about in a certain way.  
“Let's start discussing the case as Spencer needs to be brought up to date,” Hotch finally ordered after a few minutes of relaxed silence. The whole team nodded and prepared themselves to discuss the current case that was waiting for them in Las Vegas

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So this unsub has been killing both men and women for their winnings at the casino,” Spencer said as he had just been brought up to date on the case so far. “Do any of you have any theories as to why this is? Or how they discovered who has won the most on a particular night?”  
“Well my theory is that it is somebody that works in the casino and therefore knows who has won the most on the nights they strike,” Rossi suggested.  
“That's a possibility,” Spencer said, “but believe me there would have to be at least one other person involved because there's no way say a dealer at one of the tables could leave their position to follow wherever their target goes and not be noticed. It might not be suspicious the first time or two, but after that they would risk being caught. Believe me all the casinos are absolutely fanatic about security and I know you understand why. Depending on the casino you'll find anything from multiple security cameras, to security guards who watch everyone like hawks. I realize that the cameras or the security will not catch everything, but there's no way one person is pulling the same scam out of the same casino multiple times and not taking a very high risk of being caught and turned over to the police.”  
“Those are some very good points, Spencer,” Hotch said speaking for the first time, “and we would've thought of those possibilities but not so soon.”   
“Well, it is my old stomping ground,” Spencer pointed out, “I know Las Vegas like the back of my hand since I grew up there. In fact I am banned from most of the casinos and they have my picture in their security offices, but they are from when I was 18.”  
“There will be no gambling on the job, unless it's the only way to catch our target,” Hotch said sternly, although the corners of his mouth were twitching letting everybody know that he wasn't as upset as he sounded.  
“I don't need to gamble,” Spencer said, “since I now have plenty of money of my own. The only reason I did it back then was so that I could have money to take care of my mother. I wasn't home to take care of her so she's in an institution right in Las Vegas and I made the arrangements as soon as I turned 18 and was of legal age and such places don't come cheap as I'm sure you know. She had gotten much worse by then and I wasn't about to stick around and take care of her since I had my own future to think about. I love my mother, but when she was lucid she would tell me that I needed to stop taking care of her and go live my own life. The twins and I visit her quite often, which used to be every few months, but now it's only during the summer when they are home from boarding school.”  
“So how is your mother doing?” JJ asked looking very compassionate.   
“She's doing much better now that she gets her medication on a regular basis. You could never trust her to take a medication back when I was in college unless somebody was there to make sure she did and since I was the only one she really trusted and I wasn't there to make sure she did take it because I was away at college...” Spencer paused, “Dr. Norman at the Bennington Institute makes sure that she gets her medication on a daily basis and so long as she takes it she is usually fairly lucid whenever I and the boys go to visit.”  
“So back to the case,” Hotch said trying to get the team back on track although it wasn't always easy. “You believe that one of the people involved is someone who works at the casino like a dealer or someone in security?”  
“Well, if our unsub is sticking to just one of the casino along the strip, then yes, if they're switching casinos every night, then it could be done by just one person and not necessarily someone that is part of the work staff.”  
“This unsub is sticking mostly to the same casino, which is the Casino Royale,” said Rossi checking his information folder. “There have been a couple of times that it's been another casino though, but mostly is the one I just mentioned.”  
“Hmm,” Spencer said looking thoughtful his eyes distant and the team knew that he was crunching the data that he had just been presented with in his mind and formulating possibilities far faster than they could. “Okay, I see three possibilities. It's either two totally different people, the original and a copycat if the signature is the same, or the partner decided to branch off on his own while the other was working or it's two people working together and their only switching casinos because it's the partner's night off and it would look suspicious if they were hanging around their place of work unless they were playing the tables or something. Really its not usually a good idea to hang around the same casino that you work at even if you are into gambling as there are plenty of casinos in Vegas since it's really the capital of gambling, except for Atlanta.”  
“You don't pollute where you work,” Morgan suggested.   
“Something like that yes,” Spencer agreed. “Personally I think it's very foolish to murder somebody in a place that you at all work since you are eventually going to get caught partner or no partner.”  
“So do you have any theories about who the partner might be?” asked Rossi genuinely curious as to whether Spencer had any theories at this early point in the case. They hadn't really even completed the profile yet so that was unlikely, but with Dr. Spencer Reid you never knew for he truly had a very different thought process then most of the rest of the world and was also a genuine genius, which most people didn't appreciate and didn't care if they hurt him emotionally.  
“Not at this point,” Spencer told Rossi looking truly regretful. “I need more information before I can even begin to form a theory as to who the partner is or even if there is one.”  
“We didn't really expect you to,” Hotch told Spencer looking at him with pride in his eyes. “What you've told us so far helps though so if you have anymore ideas let us know.”  
“I will,” Spencer promised, “so long as you keep me up-to-date on the case. I can give you some more theories once I have more information.”  
“Are you planning on visiting your mother while you're here?” asked Emily curiously.   
“Of course,” Spencer said, “I thought I would spend at least one day with her while I was here while you guys are working. You can call me at any time though if you need to bounce any theories off me or when you have more information, I'll always answer no matter what I am doing at the time.”  
“Spencer, I think it's time we tell them about what we discussed earlier,” Hotch said.   
The whole team looked curious and Spencer ducked his head not really wanting to go into it, but he knew there was a possibility that he and his father would run into each other at some point, even if Vegas was a big city.   
“What has you so worried, Spence?” JJ asked her friend pulling him into a hug.   
“Well, Aaron and I discussed the fact that it's possible we will run into my father since he still lives and works in Las Vegas. He doesn't know about mine and Aaron's relationship and I'm positive he'll cause a scene if he hears of it. I know it's none of his business since I've spoken to him precisely three times in the last 27 years, but that doesn't mean he won't react badly that I am legally married to another man. I would rather avoid that confrontation if it all possible especially on Aaron's and my anniversary.”  
“You could've stayed home,” Rossi pointed out.   
“So Aaron mentioned to me while we were talking on the phone a few hours ago,” Spencer told everyone cuddling into his mate's side even as Aaron put an arm around him pulling him close, “but I'll be damned if I let the thought of running into my father stop me from spending time with the man I love on our 10th wedding anniversary. I know we could celebrate our anniversary late like we've had to do several times while the kids were still really young, but now that they're mostly grown up and I can travel with you guys more often...well, I'm sure you get the point.”  
“In other words you refuse to let the thought of running into your dad keep you from living your life,” Morgan suggested.   
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed. “If it was any other time other than our anniversary, I might have agreed to stay home, but anniversaries are for spending time with the people you love even if it's only for meals or at night and since I don't have a job that will prevent me from traveling whenever I want to I wasn't about to let the thought of running into my father stop me from coming. The reason I mentioned it at all is because if I do run into him there will be a confrontation, especially since Aaron has already told me he'll be at my side no matter what and my father is not going to like that at all. He'll be disgusted that I'm with another man since he's against same-sex relationships.”  
“How do you know since he left when you were ten?” asked Morgan seriously as Spencer didn't make statements like that unless he was sure of his facts.   
“Because I heard him talking about it on the phone when I was nine with another of his friends and they were saying some very nasty things about a same-sex couple that they knew about, but had never actually met. From what I overheard, my dad and his friend had heard about this couple from one of the employees at the lawyers office where my dad still works today and that was when I truly begin to see that my father was not a nice man. It was only a few months later that he left me and my mother to fend for ourselves.”  
“You remember that after all this time?” asked Emily in surprise.   
“Well, I do have a eidetic memory remember and while it is primarily visual information that I recall with perfect clarity I can imprint conversations permanently into my memory as well, if I really want too and that was one conversation I wasn't about to let myself forget as it let me know exactly what my father was really like and even at nine I understood that my father was very prejudiced and was not the kind of person I wanted to become when I grew up. In fact a lot of scientists claim that total recall, which eidetic memory is also known by, does not exist, for some people have claimed to have it, but were discredited. It is a well-known fact though that a lot of children start out with perfect recall, but as they grow up, usually by age 6 that ability often disappears and only a very small percentage of them keep it into adulthood. It is also fact that a lot of people with perfect recall don't ever get married or if they do they get divorced, because they can remember painful memories with perfect clarity like the death of a child for example. Unlike most of the human race they don't have the advantage of painful memories fading with time.”  
“So how did you deal with your painful memories since I know you have more of them then most of us,” Morgan asked.   
“Well, I had to learn how to compartmentalize,” Spencer explained. “It's an ability that most of us have to some extent as I know that none of you could do the job you do if you could put those memories into say a box of some kind in your mind and lock it up in order to lessen the pain of the atrocities that you witnesses on an almost daily basis. If you had to remember every bad thing that happened in the course of your jobs you would never be able to do what you do. Most people with my kind of memory aren't as smart as I am and don't have my high IQ. Having perfect recall has nothing to do with your intelligence.”  
“So what do you believe are the odds are or your running into your father since you're going to be there for as long as the case takes,” asked Morgan.  
“Well, probably at least anywhere from 30 to 45%,” Spencer said thinking about it. “I realize that it's a big town, but my father does like to gamble at least from what little I know of him in recent years and yes, there are a lot of casinos along the strip so maybe you're thinking it's not too likely I'll run into him, but if he hears I'm in town like he did last time I saw him he'll try to seek me out. I wasn't prepared the last time that happened as I really didn't expect him to show up at the door of my hotel room, but this time will be different.”  
“Did you have the boys with you, that time?” JJ asked.   
“Yes,” Spencer said, “but luckily they were in another room watching TV and I never allowed my father to enter my hotel room. I told him that I did not want to talk to him, that he wasn't my father even though I shared his blood because he abandoned me and my mother without any warning at all. I slammed the door in his face, locked it and went so far as to put the chain on. No matter how much he banged on the door I didn't answer it and I finally told him through the door that I was going to call hotel security if he didn't leave so he was finally forced to go. My father has no idea that the twins even exist and I would prefer to keep it that way for he will immediately demand to meet them and have visitation rights and there's no way in hell I would allow that and I don't care if he's technically their grandfather or not.”  
“Where were you when all this occurred, Hotch?” asked Rossi with a raised eyebrow.   
“I was stuck on the case, the one we had in Dallas about seven years ago,” Hotch answered calmly. “I told Spencer that he should take the boys and go up and visit his mother, since they hadn't seen her in awhile, because it looked like I would be stuck in Dallas for a few days trying to solve the case and catch our unsub and he took my advice. He called me after the incident with his father and told me all about it as he was extremely upset and agitated. I couldn't really blame him for being pissed off about it though since I know I would have had the same reaction if I had run into my mother like Spencer did his father. He was just thankful that the boys had been watching TV in the other room so William Reid never found out about them and so was I.”  
“Well, if you do happen to run into him we'll be there to help you out,” Morgan said his expression as serious as Spencer had ever seen it. “There's no way that any of us would like to face the man who abandoned you alone.”  
“Thanks, guys, but that's really not necessary,” Spencer told them.  
“You can't stop us,” Rossi told Spencer his expression unreadable, but his body language was furious and Spencer had a feeling that Rossi would like to punch William Reid in the nose for what he had done to his own family. “None of us may be related by blood to you, but we are still more your family then that man who is your father and true family doesn't abandon its own.”  
Hotch shot his old friend a grateful and Rossi winked in return.  
“We'll be with you all the way, Spence,” JJ told her friend.  
“There's really no point of discussing it anymore because there are no guarantees I will run into him or that he will deliberately seek me out if he learns I am in town,” Spencer said overwhelmed by his chosen family's show of support.  
“Just know if you do we'll be there,” Morgan promised. “Like Rossi said we're your family and family stands by each other no matter what.”  
Hotch shot Morgan a grateful look and Morgan nodded in return.  
The rest of the plane ride was silent as Spencer cuddled into Hotch's side and actually managed to fall asleep for the last hour of the flight.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Spencer,” Hotch said softly as he kissed his mate on the lips waking him up gently.   
“Hmm,” Spencer murmured not even half awake snuggling even farther into Hotch's shoulder.  
“Spencer come on, time to get up, the plane is going to land in just a few minutes,” Hotch tried again.   
“Man he really doesn't like to wake up does he?” asked Emily with a grin as she watched Hotch try to gently wake up his lover.  
“He's never been a morning person,” Hotch confirmed with a slight smile playing on his lips as he shook his lover's shoulder gently trying to get him to wake up. “He hates getting out of bed and likes to sleep in until someone forces him to get up or he's good and ready to rise for the day. If he is forced to get up most of the time it takes at least 3 cups of coffee to fully wake up.”  
“Come on, Spencer,” Hotch said again and heard groan from Spencer, which told everyone that he was starting to wake up. “You need to rise and shine because we're going to land in just a few minutes.”  
“Alright, alright, I'm up,” Spencer said opening his eyes, then yawning and stretching his tall lanky frame. “I didn't mean to fall asleep actually, so did I miss anything important while I was taking my nap?”  
“No, not really,” Hotch said putting his arm around Spencer's shoulder. “Besides you probably needed the sleep since I know you don't sleep as well when I'm gone.”  
“Probably,” Spencer said yawning again blinking rapidly, trying to get the grit from his eyes and also trying his best to wake up completely.   
“I didn't know that you didn't sleep well, when Hotch was gone,” JJ said not having known this about the man she considered a younger brother.  
“It's not exactly a state secret it just never came up,” Spencer told her yawning again behind his hand. “I used to sleep fine before I met Aaron, but now I'm not used to sleeping alone, so now I have trouble actually going to sleep when I'm by myself and I tend to sleep more lightly. I think its the fact that his body heat is missing and also because I don't have him to cuddle against.”  
“I'm not really surprised,” Rossi said looking at Spencer and Hotch thoughtfully.   
“Why?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.  
“Because you two are really attuned to each other I guess you could say. I've seen a lot of things in my long life, but I've never seen a bond as deep as yours. I mean it is a rare person indeed that would put up with your work schedule since you're gone at least four or five months every year solving cases. For the most part I think people with our jobs are bad bets as spouses, because of how we are gone all the time and most husbands and wives would never put up with your work schedule and would demand more attention then you have time to give, but you and Spencer have managed to maintain a harmonious and happy relationship despite the fact that you're gone so much of the time, which I find truly amazing.”   
“You do have a point,” Hotch conceded and Spencer who had also been listening to the conversation nodded in agreement, giving Aaron's hand a squeeze of affection and had it immediately returned.  
Neither Spencer or Hotch bothered mentioning the soulmate link that was between them, not that the team would believe it except for maybe Morgan since he knew about magic, not that either intended on mentioning it since it was a very private thing that no one else, but them needed to know about not even those they were exceptionally close to.  
“I know it helps that Spencer understands your work and you can discuss cases with him and he's even able to give you insights into them,” Rossi added after a moment of thought.  
“And it also helps that Spencer can travel with us or come by himself to whatever city we're in at the time and so he sees Hotch more often then he would otherwise,” JJ pointed out.  
“True enough,” Rossi said, “and I know that helps as well. The point I'm trying to make though is that I just find it amazing that you two have managed to maintain your relationship and become so close as you are as our kind of work wrecks havoc on love lives and families. It's just very rare indeed to find someone that will put up with it was the point I was trying to make.”  
“I see what you're saying, Rossi,” Spencer said speaking up as he had been silent for the last few minutes. “And I have to admit that you have made some very good points and you're right it does take someone with extraordinary patience to put up with the kind of work schedule that Aaron has, but that is one of my best traits as I have patience in abundance. Besides when you really love someone, truly and deeply love them, you are willing to put up with a few minor inconveniences. Yes, your guys work schedule can be a pain in the ass, but as you said the bond between us will last through just about anything, except for the betrayal by one of us.”  
“Which will never happen,” Hotch said empathically speaking for the first time in quite awhile, although he had been listening intently to the conversation.   
“I agree,” Spencer said with a firm nod giving Aaron's hand a squeeze, “It will never happen and so that means that nothing will be able to break our bond.”  
“Don't you ever get jealous when some of the women that we encounter on our cases try to get his attention?” asked Morgan sounding genuinely curious.   
“Not really,” Spencer said shaking his head negatively. “If I had any doubts about Aaron's loyalty to me then yes, I would be insanely jealous, but since he always tells me as soon as he is aware of some female that is trying to get his attention, I have no reason to be jealous because he wouldn't have to say anything at all if he was really interested in those females that try their best to seduce him. Besides if you could hear how annoyed he was with some of those women chasing him, even after he turns them down flat, then you would know that they piss him off more than just a little. You can't fake that kind of emotion, at least not well enough to fool somebody who knows how to read people and as you guys have commented on more than one occasion I would make a fairly good profiler, so I would know just as Aaron would if we cheated on each other. My love for Aaron really defies description as most people don't love except very shallowly, which is why they're willing to abandon their boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse if things get complicated and leave for supposedly greener pastures.”  
“You meant to say, Spencer, that 'our' love defies description not just 'your' love,” Hotch corrected with a smile for his lover.   
“I stand corrected,” Spencer grinned up at him his golden brown eyes sparkling with delight and love.  
“You two really have something special,” Morgan said his tone awed with a smile on his face.   
“Are you just now figuring that out, Morgan?” Emily snarked at her teammate who mock glared at her. “I've known forever that the two of them have something truly and likely uniquely special.”   
“Yes, Morgan we do indeed have something special,” Spencer agreed and Hotch nodded as he kissed the top of his mate's head and smiled down at him. Neither man was shy about showing affection in front of the team, since they all accepted their relationship and didn't think there was really anything strange about it. When they worked together though it was different and Spencer always made sure to call Aaron, Hotch just like the rest of the team and they made sure that they never touched intimately in anyway while they were around strangers, like the police since they were trying to catch an unsub and needed to concentrate their attention on doing that. When they were working together their relationship took a backseat to doing their jobs.  
“So what are you planning on doing while the rest of us are trying to catch this unsub?” asked JJ.  
“Well, I'll visit my mother like I said earlier, probably tomorrow,” Spencer said, “after that, maybe I'll visit some of the museums and see what kind of new exhibits they have up since the last time I was there, since it's been several years. Whenever you're done working on the case for the night, if it's not too late maybe Aaron and I can go out to dinner for our wedding anniversary, but if it is we can put it off for a few days, until we have some breathing space.”  
“We'll see how it goes,” Hotch said knowing that he couldn't promise since he had no idea what the team would be doing at dinner time tonight.  
“You sure are accommodating,” Emily said with a grin. “Most females I know would be upset if they didn't have their anniversary on the correct day.”  
“Some of the males too,” Rossi commented as he knew several males like that.  
“The difference you have to realize though is that neither Aaron or I have ever forgotten our anniversary it just might not be convenient to celebrate it on the proper day,” Spencer pointed out logically. “If Aaron actually forgot and didn't wish me a happy anniversary then I would be hurt, but in the ten years we've been married he's never forgotten—not once.”   
Spencer didn't bother to mention that since his memory was perfect he often reminded Aaron the day before that it was their anniversary the next day as he knew that his lover often had a lot on his mind. “You should know by now I'm a simple man with simple taste, so dinner at a fancy restaurant while nice is not strictly necessary.”  
“You don't like to be wined and dined?” Morgan asked with a grin and Spencer knew that he was teasing.  
“Sure, who doesn't,” Spencer answered returning the grin. “Sometimes I'm the one that makes a reservation for dinner at a restaurant when I know Aaron is going to be free, like on a weekend and sometimes he does. We do a lot of little things together that help us maintain our relationship. We often sit in the den or the living room cuddled together watching TV, reading books or even discussing case files. Unlike most couples we actually talk about our day, how things went during it and actually listen when we do. Neither of us keeps our negative feelings bottled up as that isn't healthy and so we allow the other to rant if there something in particular that is bothering them. Like I heard all about Erin Strauss and how annoying she was before she died for example. When one of us needs to vent they are allowed to let out all their frustrations by ranting at the other person. When this happens we realize that all the yelling is not directed at us, but for the person that has so upset or frustrated us. Allowing one of us to vent to the other one when we need to is one of the things that has helped us maintain our relationship because we don't keep all our frustrations bottled up inside until we explode and hurt the person that we love the most.”  
“Wow, I don't think I could take anybody ranting and yelling at me even if I knew it wasn't directed my way,” Emily said, looking impressed.  
“If you truly love someone then you are willing to be yelled at occasionally, especially because you know it isn't really directed at you, but at the person you're frustrated or angry at,” Hotch said with a small smile as he remembered how he had ranted at Spencer more than once over the years about the frustrations of his job and sometimes about a particular person. Doing so though had helped him release those frustrations and allowed him to relax and the lovemaking afterwards was always truly inspired and spectacular. “We both agreed early in our relationship that if we needed to vent we would be allowed to do so and that neither of us would take offense because we both know that it is not good to bottle up negative feelings and both of us tend to do that or at least that's our natural inclination. We both had to learn how to communicate and also how to listen to the other person vent their frustrations and then talk it out afterwards, but we both cared and loved each other enough to learn how to help the other, even though it was a slow process. We've gotten to the point now though that if one of us is frustrated or angry at someone or something all we have to do is read their body language to know that they need to vent,” Hotch explained.  
“This was a necessity in order to maintain our relationship and not start to resent the other and this is especially true for Aaron since he is the one that has the highly stressful job,” Spencer added. “By allowing him to vent to me it stops him from exploding at work for example or doing himself damage by keeping his feelings all bottled up. The higher your stress levels you know the more chance you're going to have some sort of medical problems later in life, like strokes or heart attacks just to name a couple.”  
“So you're kind of his relief valve so to speak,” JJ suggested.   
“Exactly,” Spencer said with a grin. “He's mine too when I occasionally get frustrated or angry, although it doesn't happen too often, since I don't have a highly stressful job. Neither one of us takes offense when it happens because we know it isn't directed at us.”  
“Spencer, is an excellent therapist,” Hotch said kissing the younger man on the cheek. “He knows how to get me to release my frustrations so that I can relax.”  
“I see now how you've been able to maintain such a close bond,” Rossi observed smiling at the pair. “Most couples don't seem to feel the need to discuss their day with each other, which is why so many relationships break apart after awhile. Also a lot of them don't do little things together or spend a great deal of time together like you do. You both go out of your way to keep the romance in your marriage, which is why you've been able to maintain it for 10 years now and 2 years before that despite Aaron's extremely stressful, time-consuming job. A lot of people become so consumed in their everyday lives that they forget that a relationship, especially a marriage takes work in order to maintain.”  
“It also takes compromise and a lot of couples aren't willing to do that, which is also why their relationships fall apart,” Hotch said.  
“We could all learn from your example,” Emily suggested with a grin, “if any of us ever get into a serious relationship that is.”  
The conversation ended there as the plane touched down just then and it wasn't long before they were all disembarking and heading to the cars that were waiting for them to head to the hotel that Garcia had gotten them reservations at.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Spencer!” Diana Reid exclaimed as he walked into the room where there were quite a few patients sitting during various activates, like reading, playing checkers and the like.  
“Hi mom,” Spencer said as he strode across the room and hugged his mother tightly. “How have you been?” asked Spencer he sat down beside her on the couch where she had been reading a book.  
“I've been doing fine, son,” Diana replied as she studied a son who looked happy and healthy she was glad to see. “So how are you and your Aaron doing?”   
Diana had been against her son's relationship with Aaron and not because he was a man, but because he worked for the government and she didn't trust the government and considered them all fascists. In the last few years though she had seen that her son was truly happy with him and found that Aaron was intelligent, compassionate, loving, commanding man that truly loved her son and so she had accepted him. The one thing Spencer had always had trouble with was finding people that would accept him for who he was and didn't go out of their way to make fun of him or put him down because of his profound intelligence, clumsiness, or for a variety of other stupid reasons.  
“We're doing just fine, mom,” Spencer told her sincerely, “and in fact I traveled up here on the FBI's private jet, because Aaron and the team got called a case and I came with them just to spend time with him and to see you when I learned that the were coming to my hometown.”  
“How are Lochlan and Landon?” asked Diana, “and why didn't they come with you?”   
“They're just fine, mom,” Spencer assured her as he removed a recent photo of his sons from his wallet. “There go to boarding school if you remember and they don't get out until June. Besides even if they weren't in school, they wouldn't have been able to travel on the FBI's private jet as the only reason I can is because I'm a consultant and so have the clearance.”  
Diana nodded grudgingly as she studied the photo and thought that her twin grandsons looked exactly alike and that they were growing up way too fast as they were already 14 if she remembered correctly and before long they'd be going off to college and then getting married and having children of their own.  
“They are turning into handsome young men,” Diana said finally as she handed the photo back to Spencer.   
“Why don't you keep that,” Spencer suggested. “It's current as it was just taken last summer.”  
“Thank you, Spencer,” Diana told her son leaning over and kissing his cheek.  
“You're welcome,” Spencer assured his mother. “I have plenty of other photos at home that are recent and I can send you a couple if you'd like to put on your nightstand.”   
“I would like that,” Diana said. “So does your father know about his grandsons?”   
“No,” Spencer said calmly, but with fire in his eyes, “and if I have my way he's never going to find out at least not before they're of legal age and not even then if I have my way.”  
Diana thought that it was a shame that her ex-husband didn't know his grandsons, but she could certainly understand why Spencer didn't want to introduce them to him after all he had abandoned her and his own son just because Spencer had turned out to be extremely intelligent instead of athletic and also because of her schizophrenia. Diana figuratively shook her head and thought that her husband was a fool instead of accepting his son and praising his son's academic accomplishments he had left when Spencer was just ten. You could never tell exactly how a child was going to turn out when they were born and she knew that William had been disappointed that Spencer hadn't turned out to be more like him.  
She supposed that William would never get to know his grandsons because there was no way that Spencer would ever trust his sons in the presence of his father who had many faults including being callous and leaving her and a ten year old boy to fend for themselves probably hoping that they would quietly disappear so that he would never have to worry about them again.  
She was sure that William hadn't counted on them surviving, but thanks to Spencer's intelligence they had. It had been especially hard on Spencer as he had to cook, clean, go to school and look after her, no tasks a 10 year old boy should have to do except go to school.  
It had been hard for a few years, but they had survived and Spencer had made something of himself and was in a very happy relationship as he thought the world of Aaron Hotchner and that was all she wanted for her son and that was for him to be happy.  
“So why are you not helping your friends with their case?” asked Diana curiously.   
“I didn't really come up here to help them with the case, although they did promise to keep me up to date so that I can help them if they need me to,” Spencer replied.   
“Why did you come them?” asked Diana curiously.   
“I came because today is Aaron's and mine 10th wedding anniversary and we did have reservations at a very nice restaurant back in Virginia before Aaron called me and told me that the team had been called on a case. We were both hoping to spend our anniversary together even if that's only in bed tonight when the team is done working for the day, although I'm hoping they get done soon enough that we can go out for a nice dinner.”  
“Has it really been 10 years?”   
“It has,” Spencer confirmed with a smile, “and actually it's been 12 as we were together for two years before we got married.”  
“And you're happy?” asked Diana.   
“Very happy, mom,” Spencer told her as his eyes lit up as he thought of his Aaron. “Sure him being gone so much is a pain in the ass, but I can join him a lot of times, especially now that the twins and Jack are older and can look after themselves for awhile. Besides Sara will keep an eye on Jack, when I'm gone and make sure he gets fed and does his homework and the twins to at least doing the summer when they are home. As it is Jack is only a year away from being old enough to get his driver's license and he's already taking driver's ed. It won't be long after he does that the twins will be old enough to learn how to drive too. Aaron and I share absolutely everything mom so we have no secrets.”   
“Your sure about that?” Diana questioned.   
“Yes,” Spencer said firmly. “The team has told me more than once that I would make a decent profiler if I wanted to join the bureau and what that means to you is I would be able to tell if Aaron was keeping something from me, lying or didn't truly love me, as human beings give off certain tells that most of the time they are not consciously aware of. The reverse is also true of course. Don't worry mom, Aaron truly loves me, I know this deep in my heart and soul and I truly love him too.”  
“Well good,” Diana said as she could tell that Spencer truly meant what he said and that he was very happy with his Aaron and vice versa of course. Diana was glad to see her son in such a satisfying relationship as all she had ever wanted was for him to be happy and he was as she could tell. A mother always knew when her children were happy or sad or angry or any other emotion or at least the good ones did.  
The two of them continued to talk for several hours until Spencer's phone rang. Spencer checked the caller ID and his face lit up, so Diana knew then that it was his Aaron calling. Spencer answered it and talked for a minute and then ended the call.  
“I've got to go mom, they need me, down at the police station,” Spencer told Diana.   
“Will I see you again before you head back to Virginia?” Diana asked.   
“I should be able to fit in at least one more visit before we leave,” Spencer said giving his mother a kiss on the cheek before rising from his seat on the couch. “I love you, mom.”   
“I love you too, son,” Diana replied as Spencer strode out of the room and heading for the front door, with Diana watching him go.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

That night, Spencer and Hotch cuddled totally naked in bed and talked quietly for a few minutes. It was extremely late, by the time they had been done at the police station, way too late to even think about an intimate dinner for two not to mention both of them were very tired.  
“I'm sorry, that we didn't get to have that intimate dinner,” Hotch told Spencer kissing him on the forehead.   
“So long as we can cuddle in bed together, I am content,” Spencer assured him. “A candlelit dinner for two would have been nice, but its not strictly necessary, for me to be happy. Things like that are just extras that people don't necessarily need or at least I don't.”  
“Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again you're certainly easy to please,” Hotch teased the man cuddled into his side.  
“Yes, well, I'm sure you've discovered by now that I'm not some fussy female that demands more attention then you have time to give,” Spencer said coloring slightly in embarrassment at Hotch's light teasing.  
“No, definitely not,” Hotch said as eyes roved up and down Spencer's slim, naked form and the appreciation and lust in his eyes, made Spencer color up again, but this time in pleasure instead of embarrassment.  
“Maybe we can have that candlelight dinner sometime in the next couple of days,” Spencer suggested.  
“We'll see how the case goes, but I would love to have an intimate dinner with just the two of us,” Hotch said smiling at the thought of a couple hours alone with the man he loved.  
“I would too,” Spencer said as he cuddled into Hotch's side seeming to be trying to absorb his body heat as the hotel room was quite chilly. “Alone time with you is precious because it is so rare as Murphy's Law seems to be operating in fine form lately.”  
“You mean the saying that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong?” asked Hotch thinking about it.  
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed kissing Hotch's cheek.   
“Yeah, we've had our troubles lately haven't we,” Hotch suggested after thinking for a few moments. “Every time I think we'll get some space to breathe and spend time together a case seems to pop out of nowhere.”  
“Exactly, Murphy's Law,” Spencer said as if what Hotch had said confirmed his theory and perhaps it did.  
“Well, I'd rather have those kinds of troubles then relationship problems,” Hotch said empathically.   
“Yes, I agree, although we really have had relatively few relationship problems ever since we got together, haven't we?” Spencer suggested knowing this was true.  
“Well, the only thing I have to compare it to is when I was married to Haley, and she and I argued what seemed like all the time, so compared to that there haven't been as many problems in our relationship as there was with Haley's and my marriage. Personally I think you have the patience of a saint as only someone with extreme patience would be of help with my work schedule. So to deliberately change the subject I did buy you a present and I took it with me this morning when I went to work since I knew it was possible I would be called on a case and I wanted to have it with me just in case as I always intended to ask you to come with the team if that happened just so we could be together on our anniversary.”  
“I bought you one as well and it's in my go-bag,” said Spencer. “I think the least we can do is exchange presents, before we both get some sleep, because I know you have to be up early tomorrow.”  
“Mine is in my suit jacket pocket,” Hotch said.   
“I'll get them,” Spencer said reluctantly leaving Aaron's side long enough to get the two presents. “Well, shall we open them one at a time or together?” asked Spencer as soon as he had climbed back into bed and cuddled back into Aaron's side, relishing in his mate's warmth since the hotel room was very chilly.  
“One at a time,” Hotch decided, “and you can go first.”   
Spencer nodded and begin to slowly undo the wrapping paper around his present which had been professionally done probably in the store that Aaron had bought it.  
Hotch tried his best to conceal his impatience, but he was long used to the fact that Spencer liked to savor the moment while he was unwrapping a present and wasn't one to just tear into the paper ripping it to shreds. He had guessed long ago that it came from the fact that after his father had left he had never gotten any presents and so that made him savor them all the more now that he was grown.  
Finally the wrapping paper was discarded and Spencer held what looked like a jewelry box in his hand.  
“Go ahead and open it,” Hotch urged him when Spencer didn't move to open the lid. Spencer did as he was told without saying a word and inside was a very nice watch with miniature diamonds above each number. The band was platinum and the watch face was a very deep blue that was almost black. Instead of numbers there were roman numerals from 1 to 12  
“It's beautiful,” Spencer said awed. He had been meaning to buy a watch ever since his last inexpensive one had stopped working and he had never gotten around to buying himself another, but he had never expected something like this.  
“I noticed that the cheap one you always wore stopped working several months ago,” Hotch said sounding uncertain for a change as he hadn't been sure if it was the right gift.  
“It's perfect,” Spencer assured his mate as he leaned up and gave Hotch a very passionate kiss on the lips. “I've never had a piece of jewelry so nice, besides my wedding and engagement rings. I'm not really one to buy myself something so expensive, even though I know I can afford it easily,” Spencer said, “but a gift is another thing entirely. I will wear it, always.”  
“Good, I'm glad you like it,” Hotch said relieved.   
“You don't ever have to worry about me liking whatever you give me Aaron, as your gifts are always thoughtful and well thought out and I love everything you've ever given me to date,” Spencer told his lover, sincerely.  
“I'm glad,” Hotch said as he kissed the top of Spencer's head. “I wasn't really sure is I know you don't own much in the way of jewelry…”   
“That's only because I haven't been given any as gifts, because as I said I'm not really the type to buy that kind of thing for myself,” Spencer said, “but a gift is another thing entirely.”  
“You should read the back, I had it engraved,” Hotch said.  
Spencer turned the watch over and read that inscription by the light that was on beside his bed. “To Spencer, All my love. Happy 10th wedding anniversary, Aaron.”  
Spencer immediately became all choked up and he threw himself into Aaron's arms and kissed him breathless. “Thank you, Aaron, it's absolutely perfect and I'll wear it with pride.”  
“You're more than welcome,” Hotch said once he got his breath back. “And if you are going to kiss me like that every time I give you a present, I'm going to have to give them to you more often.”   
“I don't need things,” Spencer protested immediately, “just you and our family. If you started giving me gifts every week they would stop being special and would become dull and ordinary.”  
“I was only teasing,” Hotch assured him, “because you're right if I gave them to you every week or month, they would soon stop being special as gifts of love from you to me or me to you.”  
“Good,” Spencer said with a relieved sigh. “Now open yours.”   
Hotch did as he was asked and he was much faster at tearing off the paper and just letting it flutter to the floor beside the bed instead of taking his time like Spencer always did.  
Once the paper was removed Hotch also had a jewelry box in his hand, but instead of a watch inside the box was a man's platinum bracelet with a Celtic design that went from one side to the other.”  
Hotch examined the bracelet closely and he knew that it was a Celtic design, but beyond that he was clueless.   
“I can tell that you really don't know what the Celtic symbols mean,” Spencer said his voice even, but there was something in it anyway that made Hotch look up and study his lover closely.  
“Why don't you tell me?” Hotch suggested.   
“Well the symbol in the middle is for protection when you're out in the field, it's a shield design as you can see and the design on either side that looks like the roots of a tree is called the Dara Celtic knot, representing power, leadership, wisdom, destiny, strength and endurance. You represent all these things to me, which is why I chose that particular design and the shield knot is supposed to have the power to keep someone safe. They used to be done on just about anything warriors shields, children's clothing, etc., etc.”  
“Thank you, Spencer,” Hotch said after a moment of heavy silence as it took his tired mind a minute to realize that this gift was Spencer's way of telling him that he meant everything to him and that he wanted to keep him as safe as possible while he was out in the field. “I love my gift and I also get the intent behind it.”  
“You're welcome,” Spencer said with a tired smile. “When you got yourself shot last year, you scared me to death you know. I know you didn't mean to put yourself in a dangerous situation and that sometimes they just develop unexpectedly, but this is my way of reminding you to be careful. I couldn't bear it if I lost you even though I know I will eventually, but hopefully not for many years and due to natural causes instead of you getting killed in the field.”  
“I always try to be careful,” Hotch answered Spencer sincerely touched deeply by the thoughtfulness of the gift, “but I wasn't about to let that unsub shoot JJ.”  
“I know, I love her too after all and consider her the sister I never actually had so I'm grateful that you both came out of that incident mostly whole even if you did get yourself shot in the shoulder,” Spencer answered. “Of course I'd rather have you shot in the shoulder, then in the chest or the stomach since those two wounds are almost always fatal.”  
“The bulletproof vests we always wear prevent us from getting shot in the chest or the stomach,” Hotch pointed out.   
“Yes, but you never know when a situation is going to develop into something dangerous and you might not be wearing your vest if you go out just to question a witness and they turn out to be the unsub you know. I know most of them try to convince you that they're not guilty, by playing innocent, but humans can be very unpredictable as you and I both know very well, and you never know how one of them is going to react to being figuratively cornered.”  
“You're right,” Hotch admitted. “I'm not the one that usually questions the suspects, at least not out in the field, but it has happened a time or two when we are a person short for one reason or another. An interrogation room is usually my territory, as you know.”  
“I know, but you should still get someone else on the team,” Spencer suggested.   
“Yeah we should,” Hotch admitted. “I haven't found anyone yet that I deem acceptable though and I've been looking for the last year or so, because you're right we really do need someone else and have for long time. Actually we really need two other people because Rossi is getting pretty close to retirement age and he might not want to leave, but that's government regulations, so he isn't going to have any choice.”  
“Well, you better look harder then, because when Rossi is forced into retirement you are going to be even shorter on manpower and although I technically work for your department I'm only a consultant so I don't have the authority to question suspects or witnesses.”  
“I will,” Hotch promised kissing Spencer again.   
“You better read the inscription on the underside of that and then we probably need to get some sleep,” Spencer suggested after a moment.  
“Oh you had it engraved, like I did your watch,” Hotch said sounding surprised although he knew he shouldn't have been, for if he had thought of if it as busy with work as he usually was then Spencer would have too.   
“Of course,” Spencer said with a shy grin.  
Hotch smiled back although it was tinged with exhaustion.  
Hotch turned the bracelet over and read the short inscription. “To Aaron, you are my life, my soulmate. Happy 10th wedding anniversary. Love, Spencer.  
“It's sappy I know,” Spencer admitted sheepishly, “but I can't help how I feel. You've made my life so happy these last 12 years. Far happier then I ever thought I was capable of being.”  
“You can be a sappy as you want,” Hotch said sounding choked up, which rarely happened. “I feel like being sappy myself sometimes, when I'm with you and you know that I'm not usually the sappy type at all,” Hotch said.  
Spencer knew that was true as Aaron Hotchner was usually the last thing from sappy, but being around him and vice versa seemed to bring it out in them both and their was nothing wrong with that at all.  
The two men kissed passionately and Hotch put the bracelet aside on the nightstand so that it wouldn't get bent out of shape by him laying on it.  
“Well, this has been a special day, despite spending most of it trying to catch our current unsub.”  
“Well, the last hour or so anyway,” Spencer agreed. “Now as much as I would love to continue this we both probably need to get some sleep, because while I can sleep in you can't.”  
“You're right,” Hotch acknowledged. “Happy anniversary I love you.”  
“I love you too,” Spencer said laying down and curling into Hotch's side with his head on his lover's broad shoulder.  
Hotch gave his lover one last kiss and then he to curled as close to Spencer as he could get and it wasn't long before sleep found them. 

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later Hotch and Spencer were walking hand-in-hand into the restaurant that had been decided on for their almost a week late 10th anniversary meal. The two unsubs had been caught and had confessed just hours before and it had been decided by the whole team that Spencer and Hotch deserved to have dinner alone just the two of them before they flew back to Quantico tomorrow, especially since their anniversary had been five days ago.  
“So what time are we flying out in the morning?” asked Spencer.   
“Not too early,” Hotch said, “The whole team deserves to sleep in a little since they worked so hard on this case and closed it so fast.”  
“So about 10 or 11 o'clock?” Spencer guessed.  
“Yes, about that,” Hotch said. “I think we all deserve a few hours of extra sleep at least before we head back and since we don't have to check out until 11 we might as well take advantage of it.”  
Hotch and Spencer approached the reservations desk and the lady behind it asked politely, “Do you have a reservation?”   
“Yes, we do,” Spencer said, “under Reid, table for two.”  
“Ah yes, Mr. Reid,” the woman said as she looked at the reservation list. “Your table will be ready in just a few minutes, since you are a few minutes early so why don't you take a seat.”  
The two men complied and never releasing hands not really caring what other people thought of them. They went to sit down on one of the benches that were placed for people to wait until their tables were ready.  
The two of them talked quietly for a few minutes and were so absorbed in their conversation that that neither noticed a very familiar man approach them, well familiar to Spencer anyway.  
“Spencer? What are you doing here?”   
Spencer looked up startled.   
“It's just my luck I have to run into you,” Spencer said rudely, keeping his voice down, “I have nothing to say to you father, so I suggest that you leave.”  
Hotch didn't say anything, his face expressionless, but his dark brown eyes sparked with fury and only somebody who knew him extremely well would be able to tell that he was as mad as hell.  
“Spencer,” William Reid tried, but the look Spencer gave the man who was his father was one of total and complete loathing, which startled the other man, although it really shouldn't have.  
“What don't you understand about the word leave?” Spencer asked as calmly as possible with a raised eyebrow, his face as expressionless as a tombstone, his normally warm golden brown eyes devoid of even an ounce of warmth. “We don't need to voice our disagreement in a public place.”  
“Disagreement?” Hotch echoed startled speaking for the first time since the confrontation began.   
Spencer turned to his lover half-smiling before turning back to his father. “I was trying to be polite at least while there are other people around us who can hear what is being said. I have absolutely nothing to say to you, that hasn't already been said.”  
“Spencer, can't you forgive me?” asked William Reid plaintively.  
“No,” Spencer said firmly. “What you did was absolutely unforgivable and it would take a miracle for me to even partly forgive you. If I thought you truly regretted your actions and were truly sorry for them I would be able to forgive you a lot easier, but I know you don't regret your actions of all those years ago at all for you don't have it within yourself to truly and deeply repent.”  
Spencer turned back to Hotch and pretended to ignore his father completely, although he did keep a bead on him out of the corner of his eye.  
Finally William Reid walked away seething and Spencer relaxed as soon as he was out of sight. “What are the odds that we run into him on our last night?”  
“Murphy's Law?” Hotch suggested with a smile more relaxed now that William Reid was no longer visible.  
Spencer smiled remembering the conversation they had just a few days ago about Murphy's Law and how is seemed to be in fine form lately. “Murphy's Law, which seems to be out to get us or at least me,” Spencer said just as their name was called.  
“Well, hopefully you made your point clear, and we won't see him again before we leave in the morning,” Hotch said both he letting the waitress lead them to their table.  
“We'll see,” Spencer said with a certain cynicism, which was totally unlike him. “Let's not worry about him anymore, at least for tonight as I'd much rather think about us and not something so unpleasant.”  
“I have to agree,” Hotch said with a genuine smile as he took Spencer's hand under the table and continued to hold it throughout the rest of their meal. The meal itself was extremely romantic as they were sitting side by side in a corner booth with a candle in the middle. In fact the restaurant's lights were extremely dim on purpose as there was a candle on every table, although not all of them were occupied. They talked quietly throughout the meal and no further mention of William Reid was made at all as they concentrated on their relationship.  
“Why do I think that the confrontation with my father is just the beginning?” Spencer asked as he paid the bill before the two of them walked out the front door of the restaurant hand in hand and into the cool of the night.  
“Maybe because you know your father won't give up easily,” Hotch suggested calmly knowing exactly what Spencer was talking about. If William Reid was anything like his son who could be very stubborn when he set his mind to it then they probably hadn't heard the last of him.  
“Well, I'm not going to worry about it at least until I have to,” Spencer finally decided as he and Hotch headed towards the rented vehicle they were using  
“I think that is wise,” Hotch told his lover giving his hand an affectionate squeeze. “I suppose we had better head back to our hotel room and try to get some sleep.”  
“Yeah, probably,” Spencer agreed. “I wish this night could last forever, though I know that's not really possible.”  
“No, it's not, but we might as well enjoy it while we can,” Hotch said by way of agreement.  
The two men walked side-by-side together with one arm around each other's waists just enjoying the last lingering feelings of deep, never ending love that the two of them had been wrapped in during dinner.  
Both wished more than anything that their night together would never end, but both knew that, that wasn't really realistic so they would enjoy being alone together and deeply in love while they could.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Spencer had been asleep for maybe an hour when there was a pounding on the door. Both men groaned and wondered what had what happened and who it was that was pounding on the door at two o'clock in the morning.  
“Do you think it's one of the team?” asked Spencer as he opened his eyes reluctantly.   
“No, they would have called first,” Hotch said with certainty.   
“You're right, so in that case, there's only one person I can think of that would have a reason to track us down and would be able to do it so fast,” Spencer said burying his head in his pillow. “Maybe if we just ignore him he'll go away.”  
“We both knew that this confrontation was coming,” Hotch told his lover, although he certainly sympathized as he hadn't wanted this to happen anymore than Spencer had.  
“Spencer! I know you're in there!” called the voice of William Reid. “Open this door!”  
“Well, we had better let him in before he wakes up the whole floor with all the noise he's making,” Spencer said reluctantly, “you know he's not going to leave until we call threaten to call security or something.”  
“I'll be beside you the whole time,” Hotch assured his lover as a two men climbed out of bed and begin to get dressed. “You stayed with me when my mother confronted me that one time years ago and I'm not about to abandon you now as I love you way to much.”  
“Thanks for that,” Spencer said gratefully as he kissed Hotch on the cheek wishing it was his lips instead, but he knew that they didn't have time to get involved in a major kissing session.  
“No matter what your father says just remember that this is in no way your fault at all even if your father says it is,” Hotch told Spencer knowing how he was prone to blame himself for things that did not involve him. “You have to remember that it was your father that abandoned you and your mother when you were just a child, and the blame should be placed squarely on his shoulders.”  
Spencer nodded grateful beyond words for his mate's loving support.  
Finally the two of them finished dressing and Hotch made sure that he had his gun on him just in case William Reid became violent and tried to attack one of them.  
Spencer opened the door just as William Reid had his fist up just a pound again. “Father,” Spencer greeted him his voice ice cold. “Do you care that you've probably woken up the whole floor with all the noise you've been making?”  
William Reid shoved himself rudely past his son only to be stopped by the man that he had seen in the restaurant with Spencer.  
“You will stop by there,” Hotch ordered sternly him making sure that the gun at his hip was visible. “You have no right to come here in the middle the night and pound on the door waking everybody up just because you're angry that your son gave you the cold shoulder.”  
“And who are you to tell me, what I can and cannot do,” William Reid blustered, “and what are you doing in my son's room?”  
“I would think that would be obvious, especially for a man as supposedly as intelligent as you are, although in my opinion that's debatable,” Spencer said as he came to stand beside Hotch putting an arm around his waist.  
It took a moment for William Reid to comprehend what he was seeing and when he did a disgusted look flashed across his face.  
“Are you telling me you're in a relationship with another man!” William Reid shouted.   
“Well, father, I'm glad you finally understand,” Spencer told him not backing down for an instant.  
“It's unnatural, disgusting, abnormal. degrading! When the waitress told me that you and him were a couple I didn't want to believe it.”  
“I don't really give a damn what you want to believe or what you think,” Spencer told his father firmly in an angry tone of voice, “and Aaron does have a name you know and the least you could do is address him by it.”  
“Hello, I'm not very pleased to meet you,” Hotch said not extending his hand as was polite since he wasn't in the mood. “My name is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Behavioral Analysis Unit and the man you have been insulted is my partner.”  
“Wow father, congratulations,” Spencer said as he knew that it wasn't often that Aaron got so pissed, but by him introducing himself with his full title within the FBI, that definitely meant that he was madder then a hornet. “You've just done something that is nearly impossible and gotten Aaron as pissed as I've ever seen him in the twelve years we've been together. He almost never loses his temper, so it's quite the feat that you managed to make him do it in such a short space of time.”  
William Reid looked from his son to the man at his side and although the agent's expression was unreadable his body language told the other man quite clearly that he was extremely pissed off.  
William Reid knew then that he had made a mistake coming to confront his son, especially in the middle of the night, but he had figured that he would be alone and hadn't counted on him, being with anybody. He had thought when he saw him with the other man at the restaurant that they were just out for a business dinner or that they were old friends who were catching up with each other, even though that particular restaurant was for couples as it prided itself on it's romantic atmosphere and not appropriate for a business dinner. When the waitress manning the reservations desk had told him that they had been there on a date after he had bribed her with a few dollars he had thought that surely she must be mistaken as surely the son of his loins couldn't possibly be gay, but now Spencer had said that they'd been together for twelve years. Still he had refused to believe that Spencer and the other man were a couple no matter what the waitress said, until it had just been confirmed a few seconds ago by the son he had abandoned decades ago. How could his son do this to him? William Reid asked himself not realizing that Spencer had stopped being his son when he was 10 years old when he had abandoned his family.  
Suddenly the hotel room door opened for while it had been partly closed it hadn't been closed all the way and the others of the team entered and surrounded their two friends.  
“Meet the rest of Aaron's team,” Spencer told his father with a smirk gesturing at the others. “They know all about you, and how you abandoned me and mom when I was just a child. They don't think there's anything strange about my relationship with Aaron and I love them for that. They are my true family and have stuck with me through everything for the last 10 years.”  
“We warned them that there was a possibility that we could run into you on the flight out here,” Hotch said. “They promised to be here to support Spencer if you did show your face.”  
“This is a private family matter,” William Reid sputtered.   
“Yes, it is a family matter,” Spencer agreed to his father surprise, but when he added, “and Aaron, Morgan, JJ, Rossi and Emily are more my family then you have been since you left mom and me to fend for ourselves when I was ten.”  
William Reid looked furious and started to grab his son by the arm only to be prevented by Morgan moving in front of his friend blocking the other man from getting anywhere near his son. The look of protective fury on the big black man's face made William Reid take a step back and survey the other agents who surrounded Spencer and the other man and what he saw made him almost decide to flee because the looks on all their faces scared him. Every single one of the other four people in the room looked protective, furious, and also like they were ready to kill him and bury the body at the slightest provocation. It didn't matter that they were FBI, they would simply take him somewhere, shoot him, bury the body and then make sure that they would never be caught for the deed. William knew that he needed to be very careful here if he didn't want to end up a corpse. It had never occurred to him, that's his son Spencer would not only survive, but thrive, and make friends with people who would have no trouble killing him if the situation warranted it and then getting rid of the evidence or making up some story about how he attacked them and he was shot in self-defense. When his son had been growing up he had just been this weird little kid who was way smarter than any child had a right to be and was also very clumsy as well tending to miss social cues that made people look at him sideways. It was like fate had decided that since Spencer was so intelligent that he should be uncoordinated, and be awkward in social situations just to keep him from getting arrogant about his extremely high IQ.  
William knew that his son had absolutely no friends while in school if only because he was way younger than all of them and nobody wanted to know the kid that could do much better in class than them even though he was like five years younger. It soon became obvious by the time Spencer was six years old that his intelligence was out of the ordinary and William knew that intelligence like his son's came along like once in a generation or not even that often. He remembered thinking while his son was still a child that why couldn't he be more like him? Somebody who was intelligent certainly, but also personable and athletic.  
“You see, father, they won't let you harm me or get anywhere near me for they know you for what you are,” Spencer said as soon as Morgan had moved out of the front of him, although he stayed close.  
Spencer looked his father directly in the eye and said, “You're a selfish, callous, shallow, arrogant, self-centered man that cares more about his image then about the woman he married and professed to love. A man that abandoned his wife and young son instead of helping his wife by making sure she took her medication. A man who abandoned his son without a second thought because he didn't turn out like you wanted him to. You wanted someone who was good at sports like you and instead you got someone with an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, who has 6 degrees and got all them by the time he was 21. You know every time I got a new degree I told myself I was doing it because you didn't think I was capable of surviving without you, but I proved you wrong when I went to college at 12 and if you had known or cared you would have been proud of my academic accomplishments, but instead your selfishness lost you something you will never understand. I'm sure you were hoping that mom and me would just quietly disappear so that you didn't have to worry about us popping up sometime in the future and the only good thing you did was leave us the house so that we at least had a roof over our heads. Now you come pounding on the door in the middle of the night, when everybody's dead asleep I'm sure expecting to find me alone so that you could confront me.”  
“Spencer...” William tried to interrupt, but his son was on a roll and spoke right over his father attempts to speak.  
“You lost the right to interfere in my life or to call yourself my father when you abandoned mom and me,” Spencer continued without pause steamrolling over his father's attempt at speech. “I share your blood, your surname and half your genes true, but that is as far as it goes for you were never much of a father to me even before you left since you spent more time with the neighborhood kids then you did with your own son once you learned he was no good at sports. You know in a way I suppose I should thank you, because maybe if you had stuck around longer I could've turned out just like you, shallow, self-centered, full of myself, and callous not caring about anybody else's feelings except my own. You know in many ways you are very similar to the criminals that the BAU goes after except as far as I know you've never committed any crimes, other then being an uncaring, insensitive boar, which unfortunately is not against the law. You come barging in here and then you get all angry about my relationship with Aaron, when really it's none of your damn business since you haven't been a father to me since before I was 10 years old and even if you had been involved in my life for the last 27 years, you still wouldn't have any right to tell me who I can and cannot fall in love with. Aaron and I have created a good life for ourselves despite our troubled pasts as we were both strong enough to overcome the numerous obstacles in our way, including uncaring relatives. I'm 37 now and I can make my own decisions about who I'm going to be friends with or who I take as a lover and you have no right to make an issue of our relationship as you gave up any right to have any say in the matter when you left. The point of this little speech, is that I don't ever want to see you again as you were the one that decided to cut all ties with your own family almost three decades ago. Now get out! I never want to see you again,” Spencer ordered turning his back to his father knowing that his friends were watching and would make sure he didn't try anything.  
“Why don't you go have a hot chocolate down in the 24 hour coffee shop,” Aaron suggested gently after a moment. “Morgan will go with you. I want to have a few words with your father if you don't mind.”  
Spencer looked at Aaron as he studied his lover's expression and body language, but finally he nodded for he knew that his lover would never do anything that would get him arrested, like killing William Reid no matter how much he deserved it. He was sure that all Aaron wanted to do was warn the man that used to be his father to never bother him again or to try to contact him, which was more than okay with him.  
“I'll call your phone, when you can come back,” Hotch said, although Morgan looked ready to protest as he wanted in on the confrontation he knew was coming.  
Hotch looked at Morgan and a silent message seemed to pass between then and finally Morgan nodded in compliance.   
“Come on, kid, we'll go down to that coffee shop that's across the street from the hotel and get us some hot chocolate,” Morgan said as he flung an arm around Spencer's shoulders in a brotherly gesture of affection and William Reid watched them go his expression unreadable.  
Spencer complied and the two of them headed out of the hotel room door and disappeared down the hallway after closing the door behind them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Once they were gone Hotch turned to William Reid who looked scared now as he wasn't sure exactly what the big intimidating man was going to do to him.  
“For what you did to Spencer you deserve to go to prison for very long time, but unfortunately you haven't broken any laws that I am aware of,” Hotch made sure he got directly in William Reid face. “You abandoned a young boy and your wife just because you didn't want to deal with the problems that had arisen and because your son wasn't turning out like you wanted him to. If I didn't strongly believe in justice, I would make sure you were never seen again for what you did to Spencer, which is absolutely unforgivable. Did you know that Spencer has total recall? That means that he doesn't have the advantage of memories fading over time like most of the human race, so in other words the memory of your abandonment will always be as fresh as the day it happened whenever he allows himself to think about it. He's woken up with nightmares more than once about what happened, although it hasn't happened much in the last few years, but it used to all the time. How a father can abandon his own son is absolutely inconceivable to me, especially since Spencer is one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my long career with the FBI. He's caring, compassionate, loving, friendly, knows more than any 500 people put together as he's always learning new things. I won't deny that he's a little awkward in social situations, although he has improved since we got together, and also dead clumsy, but that just makes all his other traits more endearing and I'm not just saying that because I love him, but because it's true and the rest of the team agrees with me.”   
William Reid looked at the other three people in the room and they all nodded in agreement their expressions ones of utter disgust and loathing. They were all looking at him as if he was some kind of bug under a microscope that needed to be squashed and he didn't like the feeling at all.   
“People hurt him whether intentionally or not all the time, but those don't hurt him half as much as what happened to him when he was a child because you were supposed to love and care for him, since you were his father. How someone so supposedly intelligent could not see what a special person Spencer is doesn't deserve to even know him, much less be related to him by blood. You disgust me, but I'll make sure Spencer never thinks about you again as you've caused him enough pain. Don't even think about trying to contact him or corner him whenever he's in Vegas to visit his mother or any other place for matter.” Hotch paused and then looked back at the rest of the team who had all been silent up until now. “Do any of you want to say anything before we send him on his way?”   
“I do,” Rossi immediately spoke up.   
William watched as the older man with the beard stepped forward. Hotch stepped back to give Rossi his chance, but watched the situation closely.   
“I promised myself if I ever met you I would punch you in the nose with the way you treated your own son, but since I know you can report me for doing that I won't, but don't assume that I'm not very tempted to, I just don't want to cause any trouble for the team if I really gave you what you deserved. All of us consider Spencer a part of our family even though we're not related by blood and family always stands by each other no matter what, a concept you obviously don't understand and know nothing about or you never would have left your sick wife and young son. You make me absolutely sick, sicker then I've ever been in my whole life and that's really saying something considering the horrors that all of us face every day in our work with the BAU and the numerous sick sons of bitches that it's our job to catch, but you take the cake. I'll wait for you over by the door,” Rossi finally said turning to the others. “I don't want to be in his presence anymore before I really lose my temper and punch him like he deserves.”  
“Anybody else?” asked Hotch looking at the remaining two members of the team.   
“I have something to say,” JJ said who had been quietly observing the whole time.  
“You have the floor, JJ,” Hotch said.  
“What Hotch and Rossi have said to you I agree with 100%. I have a son myself and I would never think of abandoning him like you did Spencer. It will not matter if he grows up to liking other men, I will still love him and always accept him for who he is. That you chose to abandon your own family after you claimed to love them makes me absolutely sick as well, as Rossi said just a few minutes ago. Family whether related by blood or not is important.”  
“What do you all know?” William Reid finally spluttered as he was tired of being lectured. “My own flesh and blood is nothing but a weirdo who should've been put down at birth.”  
The rest of the team gasped at that even Rossi was standing by the door. The whole team looked at their boss and friend who looked so furious that it was surprising that he wasn't having a heart attack as his whole face was a deep red from anger.  
William Reid looked at the bulky man with the slicked back black hair, slightly rumpled from sleep and dark brown eyes and realized that he shouldn't of said what he had because the man looked ready to murder him. He didn't really believe what he said, but he had been so tired of being lectured that it had just come out. He did admit if only to himself, that he had gone to far when he had said that about his son and it didn't matter if he didn't mean it, because once the words were said there was no taking them back.  
“Well, I guess you just revealed yourself for what you are, a slug who has no heart and no soul,” Hotch said his voice calm, although his eyes still sparked with fury and his face was still a deep red from anger. “We're all done talking to you, since you refuse to acknowledge that you were wrong, but I'll leave you with one last warning. Don't you ever try to contact Spencer in anyway again as you put him through enough with your actions, when he was a child and since. If you do I will know and I'll have a restraining order issued if I must to where you won't be allowed within a thousand feet of him without the chance of being arrested and what would that do to your precious image and reputation? You apparently don't know your son at all or know all that he has accomplished for despite all the roadblocks that were against him from the beginning, he has helped the BAU solve more cases then we would have been able to solve by ourselves or at least it would have taken us longer. His obscure knowledge has helped us on numerous occasions and you should be proud of him and instead you seem to take it as a personal affront that he didn't turn into a little carbon copy of you. Everybody on the team is glad that he turned out like he did and we would all walk into the fires of hell itself if necessary because he deserves no less and if that means going up against his own father then so be it. Now I strongly suggest you get out of my sight before I do something I won't regret, but that will get the whole team in trouble, if only because they didn't stop me.”  
William Reid fled for the look on Aaron Hotchner's face was enough to almost make him pee in his pants he was so scared and the other three, including the man known as Rossi all had looks of protective fury on their faces.  
“Well, that didn't end well,” Rossi who had been standing by the door said once William Reid had left.   
“I was hoping he would see the error of his ways, but apparently he's shallow, stubborn and a lot of other things,” Hotch said with a shake of his head his anger slowly fading. “You all can go back to bed if you want and I'll call Morgan and Spencer and tell them they can come back to the hotel.”  
“What are you going to tell Spencer because you know he'll ask,” Emily asked.   
“I'll tell him the truth as we don't keep secrets from each other,” Hotch told the others. “I'll tell him that we tried to make his father understand that what he did was wrong, but that he refused to listen. None of us need to mention the nasty things his father had to say about him as that would only hurt him more and none of us want that. I'm sure Spencer will guess that something was said, but won't ask me about it because he will know that it was hurtful and hateful without having to be told.”  
“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Emily asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow in concern   
“Yes, Spencer might seem like he needs protection but he's all stronger then we believe him to be. If he hadn't been he never would have gotten through all that's happened to him ever since he was a child, his father's abandonment, other kids bullying just because he was different, being teased maliciously and ignored by most people....” Hotch trailed off, “well the list goes on and on.”  
“Alright, if you're sure,” Emily said. “You're the one that knows him the best.”  
“Besides I couldn't keep something like this from him even if I wanted to,” Hotch added with a tired half-smile playing on his lips as he thought of the man he loved so deeply. “He would just pester me until I told him all he wanted to know.”   
The other three laughed at this for they knew it was true. “Now I suggest the three of you all go get a few hours sleep as our flight leaves at 12 o'clock sharp and we have to be checked out by 11.”  
The others nodded and all laughed Hotch in his room alone to go get a few hours sleep.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Noooooo!” Spencer screamed waking up with a start clutching the sheets tightly up to his chin sweat running down his face, his whole body shivering despite the fact that he was under the covers.  
Hotch also woke up immediately at the sound Spencer's scream and whimpers as he had only been sleeping very lightly. It was several hours after William Reid had left and Hotch had been expecting Spencer to have nightmares after what happened, and unfortunately he had been right.  
Hotch sat up immediately and pulled Spencer onto his lap and that was pretty hard considering the younger man was nothing, but a deadweight as he was still shivering violently and hadn't said a coherent word yet and in fact the only sounds he was making at all were whimpers and little mewling sounds, which tore at Hotch's heart. Spencer's nightmare and all the shivering and whimpering he was doing because of it made Hotch want to go hunt William Reid down and teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget, since he was the one responsible for causing his lover to suffer like this after he had largely put the past behind him, even if he knew that wasn't really possible as much as he would have liked too.  
“Shhhhhh!” Hotch soothed his lover holding Spencer in his arms and rubbing his back in a circular pattern gently. “It's alright, I won't let your father ever get anywhere near you again, I promise.”   
Hotch just kept repeating basically the same words over and over and finally Spencer stopped shivering, although he still hadn't spoken a word.  
Hotch continued rubbing Spencer's back soothingly and kissing him on the lips tenderly every few seconds and finally he had the pleasure of seeing some intelligence come back into his lover's golden brown eyes as the fear begin to recede.  
“Thank you,” Spencer said his voice soft speaking for the first time in at least 20 minutes. “I don't know how long it would've taken me to recover from such a horrific nightmare if you hadn't been here.”  
“I'll always be here when you really need me,” Hotch told him. “Even if we have to discuss whatever's bothering you on the phone.”  
Spencer pushed himself back into his mate's warmth, still feeling ice cold and Hotch responded by holding him even more tenderly, his arms tightening protectively around his lover and kissing the top of his head several times.  
Spencer sighed and just cuddled a close as he could get into his lover's naked body closing his eyes as he let Aaron's warmth seep into his very bones chasing away the chill of his nightmare.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Hotch after awhile placing his chin on top of Spencer head.   
“Not really no,” Spencer said truthfully.  
“It might help you get over it you know,” Hotch replied.  
“I thought I had gotten over all that my father did to me years ago,” Spencer replied not looking at Hotch's face.   
“All you probably did was bury those memories,” Hotch suggested gently, “and they surged to the surface after your confrontation with your father.”  
“That man is not my father!” Spencer spat with venom in his voice. “Or at least not in any way that matters.”  
“Shhhh!” Hotch soothed as he began rubbing Spencer's back again causing the younger man to relax.   
“I'm sorry I snapped at you,” Spencer said a little sheepishly.   
“It's all right, you just had a very horrible nightmare,” Hotch said. “Believe me I understand because as you know I've had a few nightmares myself over the years, although I'm certainly not as prone to them as you are, but then again you are a very gentle soul and I am anything but.”  
Spencer managed to smile a little at that, although it was rather dim compared to his usual ones.  
“So what was your nightmare about?” asked Hotch   
Spencer didn't want to tell Aaron what is nightmare had been about, but he did know it would help him if he talked about it. He also knew that he could talk to his Aaron about anything and the older man would never judge him and in fact help him release at least a few of his fears and deal with it.  
“I was a child again,” Spencer said softly still not looking at his lover's face as he wasn't sure he could deal with the sympathy he knew would be in Aaron's eyes. “Only this time instead of just being neglected, my father did a lot worse.”  
“Like what?” asked Hotch, although he could guess exactly what Spencer's nightmare contained.  
Spencer told him and Hotch nodded as he had suspected something along those lines.   
“I'm not really surprised,” Hotch told him gently. “You buried those memories to where you didn't have nightmares very much anymore, but your confrontation with your father brought those memories roaring to the surface. Those nightmares are your mind's way of forcing you to deal with those memories and if you don't then they will just lay in wait until the next time you run into him and then they will resurface again.”  
“I know you're right,” Spencer said shivering a little.  
“I love you and I will help you deal with those memories if you let me,” Hotch told him his arms tightening slightly around Spencer's still shivering body.   
Spencer felt warm and safe in his lover's arms, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of talking even more about what he'd had nightmares about.  
“Talking about them will make them lessen in intensity you know and eventually disappear altogether,” Hotch told his lover gently making sure that Spencer could feel his arms around him, so he knew he was safe. “Keeping them to yourself is only going to make them more intense next time they come to the surface.”  
“Alright,” Spencer finally agreed knowing very well that Aaron was right and that if he talked about them that would help him deal with the memories of his father's neglect away until he stopped having nightmares at all. It was time to deal with this piece of his past so that it never reared it's ugly head again and with his Aaron at his side he felt like he was strong enough to do just that.  
Finally Spencer began to speak and Hotch gently guided him until he was able to release at least some of his deep-seated fears that had been with him since childhood.  
The process was hard on both of them even if in different ways, but they loved each other enough to do it so that Spencer wouldn't have nightmares about his father again.  
“You know, telling my father what I thought of him helped me a lot,” Spencer said thoughtfully after they had both fallen silent for a few minutes. “I never had the courage to really tell him what I thought of his abandonment of my mom and me before, but your support and the teams, gave me the courage to do that.”  
“Well, I just hope your father finally got the message and never tries to bother or contact you again because I will take legal action if I have to,” Hotch growled sounding so fiercely protective that it made Spencer grin as it took a lot to bring out this side of his lover.  
“I'm sure he did,” Spencer said in a firm tone. “I've never seen him so frightened of anybody or anything before. I don't believe he'll ever bother either of us again as I know he is smart enough to realize that if he did you or one of the team would have no trouble dealing with it. I'm pretty sure he almost wet his pants at the looks you and the teams were sending him since every single one of you looked like you wanted to murder him and then bury the body somewhere it would never be found.”  
“Good, that was exactly the impression we wanted to leave,” said Hotch with a satisfied smirk that Spencer could hear in his tone even if he couldn't see his face.  
“I just hope you don't get in trouble for it if my father reports your confrontation,” Spencer said looking worried.  
“I don't think he will,” Hotch said, “and even if he does you have to remember that he is the one that came pounding on our hotel room door in the middle of the night and it wasn't any of the team that went looking for him so in that respect we are covered.”  
“Yes, that's true,” Spencer admitted. “It was just pure dumb luck that we ran into him in the first place at the restaurant.”  
“Well, like you said earlier Murphy's Law seems to have it in for us,” Hotch joked and had the pleasure of seeing Spencer smile and though it was still several watts lower then his usual one, it was still better then the one he had received an hour ago.  
“I think it's time I put my past behind me,” Spencer said his tone firm. “I will not let that man who shares my blood ruin the good life I have made for myself.”  
“That's the spirit,” Hotch told him hugging him close.  
“I suppose we might as well just get up,” Spencer said glancing at the clock that said it was almost 9 o'clock. He rubbed his face tiredly but got out of bed anyway. “We've got to be up in a couple of hours anyway and this will give us time for breakfast.”  
“You're right,” Hotch agreed as he to rose from the bed.  
“Man I'm tired,” Spencer said and he did indeed look tired with bags under his eyes.   
“I don't really blame you considering you woke up from that very bad nightmare and we spent at least a couple of hours awake after that,” Hotch said. “Also that confrontation with your father didn't help as it was really very emotional for you and reopened old wounds that were only half healed at best.”  
Spencer nodded in agreement but then said, “They were half healed, but now some of them are finally starting to heal completely and that's thanks to you as I never had the courage or the strength to confront him before I had you and the team's support.”  
“All I did was help you face your fears and your painful past,” Hotch said sounding modest.   
“Correction, you gave me the courage to talk about it and then listened to me the whole time without passing judgment and that's what's helping me to heal now. And I know it wasn't a walk in the park for you either and you're bound to be as tired as I am.”  
“I could do no less,” Hotch told him sincerely as he gathered his own clothes in order to get dressed. “I love you and when you love someone you are willing to put up with a few minor inconveniences. We can always catch up on our sleep on the flight back and go to bed early when we do get home.”  
“So are we going to get a shower before we go down to breakfast or will he do that tonight when we get home?” asked Spencer.   
“Well, we don't really have time to get showers not if we want to have a good breakfast before we have to head to the airport,” Hotch said.  
“Alright, but you and me have a date later in the shower when we get home,” Spencer said with most of his usual cheerfulness  
“That's more than fine with me,” Hotch said glad to see that Spencer seemed to have put his nightmare and the confrontation with his father behind him  
“Alright then, let's go get ourselves some breakfast since I'm starving,” Spencer said.  
Hotch chuckled, glad to see that at least Spencer hadn't lost his appetite and followed his lover out of the hotel room.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Valentine's day came less than a month after their wedding anniversary and since the two were so close together usually all they did for it was have a nice dinner out, well that and have mind-blowing sex afterwards.  
Unfortunately since Valentine's Day usually fell on a weekday, Aaron almost always had to work, so they couldn't celebrate until afterwards, although not if the team was gone on a case. The two men while they considered Valentine's Day important to be acknowledged since it was after all a day for lovers and that definitely included them, they also knew that they had to prioritize and compromise.  
“Happy Valentine's Day,” Spencer told Aaron as soon as both of them had risen for the day. For once Spencer didn't object to getting up so early if only because they gone to bed extremely early the night before.  
“Happy Valentine's Day,” Hotch echoed and the two men moved to kiss tenderly on the lips.  
“So shall I call our favorite place and make dinner reservations?” asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow.   
“Go ahead, I should be home by 5:30,” Hotch answered   
“That's exactly what you said less then a month ago on our wedding anniversary,” Spencer reminded his lover with a grin.  
“Yes, I know,” Hotch said with a grin of his own, “but today is Friday and so I don't think we'll catch a case and then we should have the whole weekend together.”  
“I'll make those reservations for 6:30 then,” Spencer said calmly. “You need to have time to come home and take a shower and get dressed after all.”  
“Alright,” Hotch said by way of acknowledgement. “I'll call you if I get called on a case, although I think it's unlikely at this point, but you never know.”  
“Yeah, you never know,” Spencer agreed as they kissed again.   
“As much as I would like to continue this, I had better take a shower and get dressed or I'll be late,” Hotch said as he pulled away reluctantly.  
“Don't worry, we'll have tonight after dinner,” Spencer promised him with a grin, “and believe me I have plans.”   
“So do I,” Hotch agreed with a grin of his own.   
Spencer had grown a great deal more self-confident in the last few years, especially when it came to their sex life and he was no longer afraid to tell Hotch his ideas to make their lovemaking even better. Nowadays they switched positions and sometimes Spencer was on top in the dominant position while he was on the bottom and other times it was reversed. Hotch had never thought before he met Spencer that he would enjoy being in what he considered the submissive position, but so long as it was with the man he loved he did, although he was still usually the one on top. Spencer was always doing research on the subject and coming up with various ways to please him and most of them they both liked, although there had been a few that they'd only tried once and then never had again. Hotch was the one that had bought various sex toys over the years, paid for with cash so that Garcia would never be able to discover it, and convinced Spencer to try them. He now loved most of them and it had brought more variety into their sex life.  
“Well, we'll both just have to make sure that we both have a chance to fulfill those plans, right?” asked Spencer with a grin.  
“Absolutely,” Hotch agreed also with the grin. “I'll see you after work.”  
“Alright,” Spencer agreed and they shared one more kiss before Hotch went to finish getting dressed so that he could head into work.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A month after Valentine's Day Hotch and Spencer received another letter from the Potters. Over the last few months there had been regular correspondence going back-and-forth between them and they had all become pretty good friends despite the fact that two lived in America and the other two in England.  
Harry and Ginny did their best to explain all the oddities of the wizarding world as best they could, although sometimes it was just easier to experience some things for yourself in order to understand.  
“So what does the letter have to say,” Hotch asked casually as he leaned back on the couch as Spencer brought the letter into the den. One of them always checked the letterbox that Harry had given them every day to see if they had received anything since they weren't always there when a letter arrived. More often than not they had something from the twins or the Potters and sometimes there was a letter forwarded by Harry from one of the professors saying how the twins had gotten detention and what they had done to earn it.  
“Let's see,” Spencer said as he quickly unfolded the letter and scanned it. “It's from Harry.”  
“Well, why don't you go ahead and read it out loud,” Hotch suggested.   
Spencer nodded and began to read as even as he got comfortable in Hotch's arm.

Dear, Spencer and Aaron,

Just wanted to let you know that Ginny had another healer's appointment yesterday and the third child that we couldn't tell the sex of before had shifted so that the healer could see that it is a boy, which isn't really surprising considering that the Weasleys only produced boys for generations and the Potters aren't exactly known for producing many girls either, although there are several dozen of them on the family tree for the last 500 years. The males though have a much larger percentage as there are at least 200 from the various branches of the family.  
So far the healer says that they look healthy, but then again she really needs to take it easy, especially in the last few months as the weight of the babies is nothing to sneeze at and Ginny is quite big and can't really see her feet or stand on them for any length of time, which is no surprise considering she is now just over six months along. She's taking a leave of absence from her job at St. Mungo's since she, like me wants these babies to be born healthy and not come for at least another month and a half or two months, although it would be better for the fetuses if the didn't come until at least until the middle of the eighth month, especially considering that there isn't just one, but three. Ginny or I or the healer expect that to happen, though triplets are almost always 6 to 8 weeks early and my wife isn't one for staying in bed and she's way too active to not be bored out of her mind.  
If they are born at least a month early the wizarding world does have the technology to make sure that they survive to live happy and full lives. The healer expects that when they're born at the very least their lungs won't be developed enough breathe on their own for awhile, although there is of course no way of knowing until the event occurs in two or three months.  
Ginny and I are happy to be getting another girl, although we would've liked to have at least two instead of one, but on the other hand having two girls considering how heavily laden the males are on both of our family trees is still a pretty good percentage. Perhaps we are starting a trend, since more boys still tend to be born in the Weasley and Potter families.  
James, is doing much better and while he is still playing pranks on people grounding him for the summer a few years ago has done wonders and he is now more serious about his studies and doesn't hex people for no reason anymore and never anything dangerous or life threatening. Some people hexing others in the hallways is always going to be part of this school and has been for over 1000 years now as there will always be bullies who think they are better than anyone else. Hogwarts is not the only one that is has prejudiced people as muggle schools are just the same with bullies who will always think that they have a right to pick on and be mean to someone just because they are different or because you are smarter then they are, my cousin Dudley being a good example. Of course my aunt and uncle encouraged him to bully not only me, but the others in the neighborhood just by sitting back and doing nothing, although in my case he was encouraged to bully me as much as possible. My aunt and uncle were trying to beat the magic out of me as I believe Uncle Vernon once said, but what they didn't bother to find out was that the unhappier a child is the more the magic is going to escape and do something unexpected. You both know they tried to prevent me from going to Hogwarts at all and since I was a small child I was treated me worse then dirt. I used to like to think that if anything happened the them and my parents had taken Dudley in that he would've been treated as a member of the family from day one, but my own relatives let their pathological fear and hatred of magic make them do things to an innocent child that should never have happened in the first place. All the Dursleys wanted was to be as 'normal' as possible and in doing so they actually stood out more then if they had just taken my magic in stride and accepted it.  
On a more positive note the Lochlan and Landon are doing well in all their classes, although they are doing better in some than others, but then all of us have our talents. Both twins seem to have a real talent for DADA, and are learning spells that are far advanced for their year level as I am spending extra time teaching them everything I know about the subject—which is a great deal more than even Hermione and that's saying something. You should be very proud of them for they are well on their way to producing Corporal Patronuses like I did at 13. Right now all they're getting are puffs of silver smoke, but this is still an important step into producing corporal ones. Actually they are very advanced in this particular charm as 90% of adult witches and wizards cannot produce more than a small silver cloud and some can't even do that. It is difficult to do as you must be able to think of your happiest memory, one that has a lot of love in it as well. The stronger the memory the more likely you are to produce a Corporal Patronus, which is a dark magic fighter, specifically used to make dementors flee, before they can suck out your soul leaving you nothing but a shell.

Both Spencer and Hotch shuddered at this for they had heard all about the guards of Azkaban, but Spencer kept reading.

Sorry to be so morbid but I still have nightmares occasionally about being surrounded by dementors and I suppose that talking about it does help. Personally I think all the dementors need to be eradicated permanently, but nobody has ever discovered a way to do that as far as I know.  
In any case onto more pleasant subjects like your godsons, who are doing well and growing so fast that it doesn't seem like they should be almost three already. They are often asking about when you can come and visit again and are curious why they don't see you more often. I'm sure you know that it's not easy to explain to not quite three year olds that you have your own lives to lead and that you visit as often as you are able.

Spencer paused again and looked at Hotch and then suggested, “Maybe we can suggest that the Potters come visit us here in Virginia for a couple of weeks and bring the twins at least if not all of them doing the summer.”  
“That's a good suggestion,” Hotch agreed as he kissed the younger man on the cheek. “I haven't had much time off in a couple of years so maybe I could take a week or two so that we could spend some time with them.”  
“Well, if you are going to take some time off maybe we can go across the pond instead, but I would like to see Fabian and Gideon, who are going to be all grown up before too many more years have gone by,” Spencer said.  
“We'll work something out,” Hotch promised as he to missed not only the Potters, but his and Spencer's godsons whom he had only seen about a dozen times and they were almost three years old.  
“So what else does Harry have to say?” asked Hotch.   
Spencer found his place in the letter and said, “It's just a few more sentences.”

I'll end this letter here by telling you that you are welcome to spend Christmas or part of the summer with us as we have plenty of room as you know and everybody would be very happy to see you and I know that you would make both sets of twins year if you could spend a week or two here as they love you both.  
I'll let you know of any developments with Ginny's pregnancy and of course you'll be informed when she actually gives birth.

Best wishes,   
Harry

“Well looks like everything is going well so far,” Spencer said as he refolded the letter.  
“You sound worried,” Hotch said looking at Spencer's expression and reading it quite accurately.  
“I am,” Spencer admitted. “I did research on multiple births and there could be all kinds of problems that occur even more then with a single baby.”  
“Such as?” asked Hotch just a little curiously, although he was also not sure he wanted to know.  
“Well, such as preeclampsia, also known as toxemia. It is often identified because of extremely high blood pressure and protein in the urine and occurs more often with multiple births. If left untreated it can turn into eclampsia, the life threatening occurrence of seizures during pregnancy. It may start to develop after 20 weeks, although it is most common after 32. This only occurs in 20% of women carrying multiples and also has a lot to do with other factors, like the woman's health history, among other things. There is also more of a chance of cerebral palsy, which is a general term for a group of permanent, non-progressive movement disorders that cause physical disability, mainly in the area of body movement. There may also be problems with sensation, depth perception, and communication ability. Difficulty with cognition and epilepsy is found in about one-third of cases. There are a number of subtypes including a type characterized by spasticity, a type characterized by poor coordination, and types which feature both symptoms or neither. Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, during childbirth, or after birth up to about age three. About 2% of all cerebral palsy cases are believed to be due to a genetic cause. Cerebral palsy is not an infectious disease and is not contagious. Most cases are diagnosed at a young age rather than during adolescence or adulthood. Sorry didn't mean to going to such detail,” Spencer admitted a little sheepishly, when he saw the look on his lover's face.  
“No, it's okay,” Hotch said with a grin. “I was just thinking that you sounded as though you had swallowed a textbook.”   
“Well, I did read it out of a textbook,” Spencer admitted, “and I do have an eidetic memory. I've been reading all about what can go wrong with multiple births ever since well, we learned that Harry and Ginny were going to have twins, although with twins it's less likely to happen then with triplets or higher percentage multiples.”  
“So what's the percentage of this kind of thing happening?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.  
“About 30% in triplets and sometimes more,” Spencer answered immediately. “It has a lot to do with low birth weight as most of the triplets weigh around 3 pounds each when they're born, and five pounds is the norm, although some triplets have been known to weigh slightly more. Cerebral palsy is also caused due to lack of oxygen to the brain which means that the brain and the muscles of the body don't develop properly. The longer that Ginny can take this pregnancy and the less premature the triplets are the less chance at least one of them will end up with the disease. Of course for all we know the magic that runs in their blood might mean that there is even less chance of developing things like palsy, although they're still human so I'm sure that the risk is not eliminated entirely, it just might be considerably lessened.”  
“For all we know the wizarding world has found a way to mostly eliminate some of these problems,” Hotch suggested. “We have just started to learn about this totally different world in the last four years after all.”  
“You're right,” Spencer admitted. “For all we know there is a potion or several that will prevent at least some of these problems and I'm sure the healer would have told the Potters all about them, if Ginny didn't already know since she does work at St. Mungo's.”  
“There you see,” Hotch said, although he could certainly understand why Spencer was worried since these triplets would be part of his family even if the connection was very distant. Besides to lose any of them would probably destroy Harry and maybe Ginny as well. Hotch thought back to Harry's letter about how he would feel if he lost any of his children even those yet to be born and knew Harry well enough to know that he was stronger then he believed himself to be and while the loss of one of the triplets would certainly cause him to deeply grieve he would get over it and eventually be happy again, although neither he nor Ginny would ever be able to forget, just like no good parent would.  
“Try to stop worrying about it as it will only drive you insane,” Hotch suggested practically. “We'll have to just wait and see what happens and try not to worry about it in the meantime.”   
“That's easy for you to say,” Spencer told his lover with a smile on his lips. “You're busy with your job and don't have time to think about things like this, but me on the other hand…”  
“Maybe you could come and help us in the office,” Hotch suggested at the moment. “You could help JJ review cases for instance. Not only would that help her with the load of case files she's always dealing with it will distract you as well so as far as I can see it's a win-win situation. You can help her view the case files and see whose is the need is the most urgent.”  
“There's an idea,” Spencer mused looking thoughtful. “I might just do that so long as JJ doesn't think I'm invading her territory.”   
“No I believe you'll find that she'll be grateful for your help as she often has so many case files to go over that it takes her a week and there are always more coming in. You could help lighten the load considerably every once in awhile considering you read so fast. You could have the stack that she's often dealing with done in just a few hours instead of it taking a week.”  
“Are you sure it's not against some kind of regulation?” asked Spencer as he went over the regulations he had read over almost 10 years ago in his mind. He couldn't find one that related to having a consultant help go over case files, but then there probably wouldn't be one considering that the FBI so rarely used consultants. Spencer knew very well that being a consultant for the BAU was a very unusual turn of events because as far as he knew it had never been done before at least not on a regular basis. Spencer didn't deny that consultants had been used in the past, but there was not one person that was consulted more then once or twice if the FBI really needed help in a particular area of an investigation. As far as he knew he was the only one that had ever helped out a government agency more than a few times because of his depth of knowledge. Most consultants only knew a lot about one or two subjects but his teammates often referred to him as the expert on everything, even if it wasn't true it probably seemed that way since he did know a little about almost anything and was always learning more.  
“No, I don't believe so,” Hotch said thinking about it. “You have the clearance so that won't be a problem, although I should probably consult with the section chief just in case it does go against some obscure regulation, but I don't believe so.”  
Spencer nodded, “Maybe you better do that as I wouldn't want to get either one of us or JJ in deep trouble if we break some kind of obscure regulation that neither one of us is aware of. I know that's very unlikely considering that consultants aren't often used, especially the same one, but you never know with the US government.”  
“True,” Hotch conceded.  
The two of them fell silent for awhile just to join each other's company by cuddling together, but finally Hotch suggested, “Why don't we watch a movie since we get to do that so rarely, because of my work schedule. Something that all of us can watch including Jack.”   
“Sounds good,” Spencer agreed. “It'll be nice to just sit on the couch and cuddle with you, spend time as a family and not worry about the birth that is hopefully a couple of months away at least. I'll have Sara fix some snacks so that we can munch on them while we're watching.”  
“That's a good idea,” Hotch agreed as Spencer got up from where he was cuddled into Hotch's side to go find Sara and tell her about the movie night and have her fix some snacks.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~


	4. Chapter 4

A month and a half later Dobby appeared in the combined Reid/Hotchner household, just as they were sitting down to dinner.  
“Dobby, what's wrong?” asked Spencer as soon as he had gotten over his startlement at seeing the house-elf where they had been anyone before.  
“Mistress Ginny has gone into labor,” Dobby said looking extremely worried. “There was no way to prevent it as her water broke. Master Harry sent me here to tell yous that they're already at St. Mungo's.”  
“How did this happen?” Sara asked getting over her apprehension at seeing the odd creature since Spencer and Hotch both seemed to know him. “It's much too early.”  
“Mistress Ginny had been having false labor pains for awhile and the healer admitted her to St. Mungo's as a precaution. They seem to have it all under control until her water broke unexpectedly.”  
“It's not really all that unexpected, Dobby,” Spencer told the house-elf kindly. “Triplets are known for coming at about 30 weeks about 65 percent of the time and that is exactly what happened. They should be okay, although they might have to stay at St. Mungo's for awhile since they are bound to be underweight and at least one of them will likely have underdeveloped lungs.”  
Hotch noticed that Spencer didn't mention any of the other things that could happen when multiple babies come to early, but he could understand that as there was no need to worry the house-elf since Dobby obviously cared deeply about the Potter family, including the three newest additions.  
“Are we going to go see the triplets, dad?” asked Jack.   
“Probably not tonight son,” Hotch told Jack gently. “For one thing we don't want to interfere at this time since Ginny is still in labor and she hasn't actually had them yet.”  
“How long has Ginny been in labor?” Spencer asked the house-elf.   
“A couple of hours,” Dobby answered immediately still looking a little worried, although that was better then the franticness he had been before.  
“Then no we won't be going tonight,” Spencer said. “It'll be hours before they're actually born, maybe not even until morning and you have school tomorrow, and your father also has to work,” Spencer told Jack.  
Jack looked disappointed, although he did understand.   
“Maybe this weekend if they're out of the hospital by then we can go see them,” Hotch suggested, “well so long as I'm not away on a case that is.”  
“You had better go tell Harry that you gave us his message,” Spencer told Dobby and the house-elf nodded in agreement.   
“I will hear you if you call me and I will come,” Dobby promised.  
“Will you let us know how the labor went?” asked Sara speaking for the first time as she saw that no matter how odd he looked Dobby was a gentle soul. “We'll worry about Ginny and the triplets until we know if they're okay or not.”   
Dobby nodded immediately. “I will tell Master Harry of your concerns and I'm sure he will send me as soon as there is any news.”  
With those words the little house-elf snapped his fingers and disappeared and it was if he had never been there all.  
“Who or what was that?” Sara demanded as soon as it was gone.   
“That, was a house-elf,” Spencer explained calmly. “They're servants to the ultrawealthy of the wizarding world.”  
“So they're like a maid, cook, butler, gardener?” asked Sara.   
“All of the above,” Hotch answered. “Dobby works for the Potters and we met him before when he came to tell us that the twins had been born. That was the morning that we left you that note since we had gone to London to St. Mungo's to see them.”  
“So house-elves can just pop in and out of anywhere?” asked Jack looking enthralled.   
“Yes, they can,” Spencer's told him knowing exactly what Jack was thinking. “He couldn't have done it though if he hadn't been ordered to because house-elves are bound to their families.”  
“Bound?” Sara questioned.   
“Magically bound,” Spencer explained. “Apparently from what we learned from Harry and Ginny house-elves are magically bound to the wealthy families of the wizarding world and if they are released their magic starts to fade and after that they will die.”  
“You'll also find them at Hogwarts,” Hotch added. “Apparently there they are bound to the school itself. They are responsible for the meals that everybody eats at the school and also the cleaning of that huge castle, but then since they can do magic to do the cleaning it isn't as huge a task as it sounds.”  
“So then they are slaves?” asked Sara looking outraged.   
“Not precisely,” Hotch assured her. “It's true that many house-elves aren't treated well by those they serve and they definitely don't get paid, but it's also fact that if they are released and don't find another master within a year or two then they will die. Apparently their magic is such that they are bound to serve. It's just part of the species.”  
“So if I'm understanding you right, so long as they have a family to serve their magic stays strong and so does their… lifeforce?” Sara said sounding unsure about that my last word.  
“That's pretty accurate,” Spencer said. “The Potter house-elves are treated like family so they of course, are very loyal. That's why Dobby looked so worried about Ginny and the triplets. All house-elves love children anyway and are very good at taking care of them.”  
“So they make good nannies,” said Sara.   
“Yes, they do at least according to the Potters anyway,” Hotch sand. “It's apparently part of the species. Let's finish dinner, before the food really gets cold,” Hotch suggested after a moment and everybody nodded started to eat again even though they will all very worried about Ginny and the three children that had yet to enter the world.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

It was late morning and Spencer was curled up on the couch reading a book when Dobby suddenly appeared. Spencer who had been trying to hide his anxiety looked up immediately.  
“How are Ginny and the triplets?” Spencer asked immediately.   
Dobby smiled happily and Spencer took that to mean that everything was okay as he couldn't see the house-elf smiling if something bad had happened. “Everything is fine Master Spencer,” Dobby said. “Mistress Ginny gave birth to two boys and a girl.”  
“How are the babies?” asked Spencer.   
“They is doing okay, although they's going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days, especially one of the boys as he has undeveloped lungs,” Dobby answered.  
“Anything else?” asked Spencer.   
“Master Harry told me to tell you that they all weigh 3 1/2 pounds apiece and that the healers were surprised considering how early they were born.”  
“So the triplets are healthy?” asked Spencer slowly as he worked out what Dobby had said.  
“Yes,” Dobby squeaked immediately, “even the one that has to stay in an incubator until his lungs are fully developed. Master Harry told me to tell you that you should get a detailed letter about the triplets development sometime in the next week or so.”  
Spencer nodded and said, “Aaron and I are really going to have to come visit and see the triplets as soon as they are home from the hospital.”  
“Master Harry wanted me to assure you that you will always be welcome,” Dobby said.  
“So who do the triplets look like and do they all look the same? Same color hair, eyes that kind of thing?” Spencer asked Dobby.  
“Two of them have the beginnings of Mistress Ginny's red hair and freckles across their noses, and the boy in the incubator has the beginnings Master Harry's black hair,” Dobby answered immediately as he had been by to see them in the nursery. Most people didn't notice house-elves, so long as they looked as if they belonged there and house-elves did work at St. Mungo's and so he had been able to remain unnoticed.  
“What of their eye color?” asked Spencer when Dobby didn't continue.   
“I am sorry Master Spencer, but they were all asleep when Dobby went to visit,” Dobby said looking disappointed to be unable to supply that information.   
“That's okay, Dobby,” Spencer assured him. “You had better get back to Harry and I'll tell Aaron what you told me as soon as he gets home from work.”  
Dobby nodded and without a word snapped his fingers and disappeared.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later a letter from Harry finally came and Spencer, although he had been assured that Ginny and the triplets were fine was anxious to hear from them just to confirm what Dobby had told them. One of the reasons this was, was Spencer had never had any blood family before outside his sons and his mother, and no he didn't count his father as his family after his abandonment when he was 10. Another part of it was that he truly liked Harry and Ginny and their family or at least the ones he had met and gotten to know and he didn't want anything bad to happen to any of them, although he knew very well that it could as he wasn't naïve enough to believe that bad things never happened to good people, since he had certainly never done anything to deserve all the bad things that had happened to him.  
Spencer had of course told Aaron about Dobby's visit as soon as he had gotten home from work and how he had reported that Ginny and the triplets seemed to be doing okay, but Hotch who also understood his mate better than almost anyone knew that he wanted that confirmed by Harry or Ginny themselves and wouldn't stop being anxious until it was.  
“So that letter that Dobby said would be coming has finally arrived has it?” asked Hotch even though it wasn't really a question.  
“Yes,” Spencer confirmed with a nod after checking to see who it was from, “It's from Harry,” he added quickly scanning the letter.  
As soon as Spencer finished reading Harry's rather long letter he relaxed completely and the anxiety he had been feeling for the last few days finally disappeared.  
“It must be good then since you've finally lost all that tension you've been feeling for the last three days,” Hotch said watching his mate closely.  
“It is,” Spencer confirmed smiling as he settled down beside his lover and started reading it out loud more for Hotch's benefit then his own since he already knew what it said.

“Dear Spencer and Aaron, 

I know you both have been anxious to discover what happened when Ginny unexpectedly went into labor, especially you Spencer.

Hotch grinned inwardly for Harry apparently knew Spencer pretty well and knew he would worry until he heard from one of the Potters.

I'm sure you can guess that I as well as the children, the rest of the Weasleys and all of our close friends were worried when Ginny unexpectedly went into labor six weeks early. I was actually called out of class by Minerva and told that my wife had unexpectedly gone into labor and I'm sure you can guess that I was close to panic since I knew that she was a month and a half before her due date. I, of course, rushed to St. Mungo's using the Floo instead of taking the time to walk to the front gates so I could Apparate. To be completely honest I'm not sure I could have Apparated anyway with as nervous and terrified as I was, without splinching, so it's just as well. I rushed up to the maternity ward, but I was not the first one there as several of the Weasleys had already beaten me there. Bad news always has a way of traveling fast and it was probably helped along by the fact that Remus contacted Molly and Arthur as soon as he had heard about Ginny going into labor early.  
I won't go into details, but Ginny's labor was very intense and long and it wasn't until after 7 AM our time that the first of the triplets made their appearance. It was a boy, and he had the beginnings of Ginny's red hair as well as her freckles. We decided to name him Kian, which is a Potter family name that has not been used in several hundred years. Ginny and I discovered it in one of the family journals in the Potter library and we think it is a good name as my ancestor was apparently a great warrior and a good man. Ginny and I both agreed several months ago that we wanted unusual names for the triplets once they were born instead of names that thousands of other people had. To tell you the truth reading the family journals, the pages of which have been preserved with a spell to stop them from deteriorating, is like walking into the past and I am thrilled to learn so much about my family that I never knew before, but probably would've learned if my parents had lived.  
Reading the family journals whenever I have some free time is a very eye-opening experience, because as I'm sure you can guess not every story is good or has a happy ending as some of the bad things that happened to my family are also written about, probably so future Potters can always learn from the past, so that they don't necessarily repeat their ancestors mistakes.  
In any case it wasn't until a couple of hours later that my second son was born and we named him Riordan, which is another family name from the Potter side and another one I found in one of the family journals. It wasn't long after that our daughter decided to make an appearance, although we nearly lost her, before she was even born as the healers discovered that her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.

Hotch and Spencer both winced at this, but Spencer continued to read on.

Luckily, the healer discovered what was happening before our daughter was strangled by her own umbilical cord and he managed to untangle it from around her neck and it was only a few minutes later that she was safely delivered. I will say this our daughter has a strong will to live and a good set of lungs on her, because her cries are probably loud enough to wake the dead. I was so relieved that I almost cried and I haven't cried since right after my defeat of Voldemort, but as I'm sure you know there was a very different reason for those tears years ago then for my recent ones. I was so happy that my daughter was going to be okay and that the healers had been paying attention.

Hotch breathed a sigh of relief that the Potters daughter had survived and then he chuckled at Harry's description of her cries.

We decided to name her Katriona after Hecate the Greek goddess of magic. Two of the newest additions to the Potter family have the beginnings of Ginny's red hair and freckles across their noses, while the third has the beginnings of my black hair and although their eyes are a cloudy blue at the moment of their birth, the healer believes that they will turn green like mine, which would go along with their red and black hair, although so would blue come to think of it.  
All three of the children weigh about 3 1/2 pounds each and were about 6 1/2 inches long and while two of them have excellent sets of lungs, Riordan is having a little trouble breathing and the healer told us that he is going to have to stay in intensive care for awhile, as his lungs aren't quite as developed as his brother's and sister's. He should be fine though and be able to go home with us in a couple of weeks after he spends sometime in an incubator and his lungs finish developing. Other than that I am amazed that they all turned out so healthy considering they were born six weeks early, but the healer assured us for triplets this is quite normal.  
Ginny was magnificent, although she is quite tired as you can imagine and after over 15 hours of labor and I can hardly blame her. The family of course has all been to see our newest children including Riordan who is still in St. Mungo's and all have fallen in love with all three of them, except perhaps for Percy. (Imagine eye roll here)

Hotch snorted at that and Spencer laughed at his lover's reaction.

Percy is still as pompous as ever and although he came to see his nephews and niece, it is probably out of more a sense of family obligation then because he wanted to, he doesn't really seem to approve of me in particular and having so many children in general, though he wouldn't dare voice that opinion in front of the rest of the family, especially mom or Ginny as my wife would have no problem hexing him and the bat-bogey is her favorite and quite painful, as Draco Malfoy can attest to, but does no permanent damage. As for mom she would lecture him until his ears felt like they were going to fall off and it wouldn't be like he wouldn't have deserved it so I know I wouldn't be able to muster up any sympathy for him if he had opened his mouth.  
We named Remus Lupin and his wife Dora as the godparents and both were thrilled to accept, although Remus tried to tell me he was unsuitable because he was a werewolf and I told him I didn't care about that and that he was like an uncle to me and that he had been one of my father's best friends. The last of the true marauders. Finally he gave in and agreed and he really was thrilled, but he always thinks that just because he's a werewolf that he has no rights and that might have been true in the past, under a different Ministry of Magic, but not ever since the war ended, and a lot of old laws were repealed since they were very prejudiced, made by some of the arrogant purebloods for their benefit. I think it has to do with the fact that he was bitten when he was six and being a werewolf is all wrapped up in who he is and how he thinks of himself.  
Also, I wanted to tell you that I am going to have a vasectomy operation in a few weeks so that I can't get Ginny pregnant anymore after it is done. It is reversible, but I know that's not going to be necessary in my case since even I think eight children is plenty and this way Ginny doesn't have to remember to take her birth control potion every few months. Ginny and I both agreed that a vasectomy was for the best as neither of us is sure that Ginny would survive another pregnancy and even if she could we've had all the babies we are going to.  
Well I am going to end my letter here, but you are welcome to visit whenever you like or perhaps when the triplets get a bit older we can come visit you instead. Just let us know and we will make the arrangements.

Cordially,  
Harry

“Well I'm really glad that everything turned out alright,” Hotch said as Spencer refolded the letter. “I know that you were worried.”   
“You were to,” Spencer told his mate with a knowing grin.  
“Well, yes,” Hotch admitted. “I might not know what it feels like to lose a child, but Rossi lost his infant son after only three days several decades ago and I've come across parents who have lost a child as well in my line of work. Besides even if I haven't lost one I know that it would almost destroy me if Jack or either of the twins was killed.”  
“Me too,” Spencer agreed leaning over and kissing his lover on the lips gently. “I love you and I thank you for putting up with my anxiety and worrying.”  
“There's no need to thank me,” Hotch told Spencer. “I was worried to you know I'm just better at concealing my emotions, then you are as you tend to wear your heart on your sleeve. After all the Potters are family and it would hurt us, although not as much as Harry and Ginny if they lost one of their children. Besides, Spencer, you're only human and I don't expect you to not be who you are. Of course you were going to be worried for the Potters since you love and respect them. I don't expect you to be perfect as no human is. You know one of the reasons I love you so much is because you care so deeply about those you consider friends and family, and not just me or the twins or Jack or Sara, but the team and the Potters.”  
“I love you,” Spencer told Hotch going to sit on his lap and putting his arms around his lover's neck and giving him a heartfelt, passionate kiss.  
“I love you too,” Hotch told him as soon as they had both gotten their breath back.  
The two men just sat there in silence just cuddling together with Spencer's head buried in the side of Hotch's neck breathing in the smell of his mate's cologne, as well as just a hint of the shampoo he used in the shower.  
Hotch for his part put his arms around Spencer's waist and held him close and the two of them were just content to sit like that for quite awhile afterwards, not needing to speak at all to know how the other felt.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Lochlan and Landon, age 15

Dear dad, Uncle Aaron and family

I believe I'm in love. I finally asked Michelle to go on a date on the next Hogsmeade weekend and she said yes! I wasn't sure if I was doing to right thing as I did want to ruin our very tight friendship, but I went ahead and did it anyway and I was so relieved when she immediately said yes. She told me that she had been waiting for me to come around for several years and she was so glad that I had finally realized that I liked her just as much as she liked me. She had apparently known it for quite sometime that she liked me, but according to her girls always mature faster than guys and so she realized her feelings for me back when she was 12.  
I didn't really realize it until last year but I believe I've been in love with Michelle since we met when we were 11, but what boy at that age wants to admit that, since most them think girls have cooties?

Spencer and Hotch laughed at that and shared a look.  
“I certainly went through a stage where I was his age thinking that girls had cooties,” Hotch said as he remembered back more than 30 years ago. “I was about 13 when I finally decided girls were okay and didn't have girl germs.”  
“I never went through a stage like that, but then again I wasn't really interested in the opposite sex until I was about 17,” Spencer mused. “I realize that probably had to do with my intelligence and because I was behind other teenagers socially, but I was also extremely shy around girls so that was part of it as well.”  
“I think if you'd had a father who had to stuck around maybe you wouldn't have been so shy as children learn from their experiences, environment and also from people close to them like their parents.”  
“Well, it doesn't really matter now,” Spencer said with a shrug of indifference. “Even if I'd had more than that one night stand with Clara in college we still would have found our away to each other, or at least I hope we would have. It's ironic in a way, I really never dated at all and Clara was the first and only girl I ever had sex with, which resulted in my sons, and yet when we met it was as if I somehow knew that we were meant to be. Oh I won't deny I was nervous asking for your phone number, but somehow I knew that you would give it to me and that you were drawn to me too.”  
“I was,” Hotch said kissing Spencer on the cheek and pulling him close. “So what else does Lochlan have to say?”  
“Let's see,” Spencer said as he continued reading his son's letter.

We went on our first date to Hogsmeade, really it's the only place to date here as it's hard to find a little privacy inside the school. We just kind of wondered around town, by ourselves and though Landon was with us at the Three Broomsticks for part of it, and no he didn't have a date, though he and Grey seem awfully close, but mostly it was just the two of us and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. I bought Michelle some chocolate at Honeydukes, which was our first stop and afterwards, we looked around Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, who have a store in Hogsmeade and then we went to Scrivenshaft's to buy some more parchment and quills. After that though we settled down in the Three Broomsticks and ordered some butterbeer, which is something you just have to try next time you're here. Some of the kids were talking about Madam Puddifoot's tea shop, but Harry had already advised me not to take Michelle there as it's where couples go. He said that the decorations were tacky, apparently it's like an overdone Valentine's day with paper hearts and confetti coming from the ceiling, little cupids with bows and arrows floating also near the ceiling and couples in various stages of a relationship. Also Uncle Harry said that the drinks are watered down and that the food tasted like sawdust.  
Michelle and I had a good enough time that she agreed to go with me to the next Hogsmeade weekend. We are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend and we kissed in order to seal the deal. The kiss was really no more than a peck on the lips, but now I know why you two enjoy kissing so much even in front of us young impressionable kids.

It was clear that Lochlan was being sarcastic and Hotch and Spencer laughed at their son's atrocity.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes, but I know this that even though I'm only 15 I love Michelle and have for a very long time even though I didn't realize it until recently. I hope things work out as I would hate to lose Michelle's friendship if we break up as a couple, because it didn't work out.  
Dad, Uncle Aaron, I want you to know that you two were always a good example about how a marriage should work. I learned from you that marriages are about compromise and talking to each other. No relationship is perfect all the time, but so long as you're willing to work it out and compromise when necessary then your relationship or marriage will last.

I love you both,   
Lochlan

“My little boy is growing up way too fast,” Spencer said after a minute of silence sounding melancholy.   
“Well, if he really does love Michelle then they would be a good match,” Hotch said thoughtfully. “I liked Michelle from the first minute I met her and they have spent part of the last several summers together, although Landon is usually tagging along.”  
“You're right they would be a good match since they're both intelligent, their personalities are similar and they've been best friends since they both started at Hogwarts,” Spencer admitted. “Being friends first is definitely the way to go when you want to turn it into something more. Relationships, especially marriages tend to last if the people involved were friends before they started dating,” Spencer said.  
“You're right, a lot of people get married, only dated for a short time and a lot of times those marriages break up because they weren't friends first and therefore they didn't have a solid foundation in order to build their marriage. If Lochlan and Michelle evidently do tie the knot then I think their marriage will last because they've known each other since they were 11 years old and therefore they understand each other quirks, weakness and so forth,” Hotch said.  
“Our marriage has lasted and it's only partly the soulmate bond that's between us,” Spencer said.  
“We got to know each other first before then though,” Hotch pointed out. “We might not have known each other for the last five years like Michelle and Lochlan, but we did spend as much time together as your job permitted and got to know each other over two years, not just six months or less. Besides we're both intelligent and observant enough to realize if there is a problem and to talk about it. Some couples just seem to ignore each other and don't seem to notice if there is a problem with their partner or they keep their feelings bottled up instead of discussing what's bothering them, which is one reason so many marriages fail.”  
“You're right,” Spencer said, “a lot of couples never learn how to balance their work, and other daily commitments with their marriages vows So, do you think Landon is interested in Grey as more than just a friend?” Spencer asked changing the subject.   
“It's too soon to tell for sure,” Hotch said surprised at the change in subject, although he shouldn't have been for he knew it had likely been on Spencer's mind ever since he had read Lochlan's observation in his letter. “Lochlan could very well be right and Landon and Grey could very well be dancing around each other, because of sexual tension, unable or perhaps unwilling to admit that they like each other as more then just friends. I mean they're both still teenagers and they might not be sure of their sexual orientations since a lot of teens aren't sure about that sort of thing or at least aren't willing to admit liking their own sex because they know they'll be ridiculed and teased nastily by some people and some teenagers just aren't ready to handle that kind of abuse.”  
“What about you? Did you ever have sex with a man before you met me or even admit that you liked your own sex that way?” asked Spencer.   
“I fooled around a little in college,” Hotch admitted, “but it was never a full-blown sex, just a few blowjobs from three different guys and we mainly did it just so we could say we'd had tried it and vice versa of course. The thing is even though I never admitted it to anyone I really liked those blowjobs but I never once looked at another guy after that even before I married Haley. After I started my career I never gave any indication I liked anything but girls as liking your own sex back then could have ruined you. Same-sex relationships weren't as accepted back in the 80s and 90s as they are today. You know how for most people memories begin to fade over time?” Spencer nodded. “After a few years I never thought about those days again until after I'd met you.”  
“I suppose it's lucky we met after perceptions on our kind of relationship changed as I wouldn't have wanted you to lose your job over our relationship or at least get you in trouble.”  
“Yes, it's just as well because I'm not sure I would have been as accepting about me liking another man back when I first started my career and I don't mean to just play around with, but seriously,” Hotch said.  
Spencer nodded not at all offended as he knew that people matured and changed over the years and he said as much to Aaron who nodded.  
“Yes, people do grow and change for as long as they live,” Hotch said seeming to be able to divine Spencer's thoughts as he started to rub soothing circles on his lover's back. “Back when I was younger I cared more what people thought of me then I do nowadays.”   
“What precisely do you mean by that?” Spencer asked carefully.  
“All I meant was that I valued peoples opinions of me when I was younger and it didn't really matter if they were close friends or just acquaintances, but after a few years with the FBI I really stopped caring what people thought of me, especially ones like Erin Strauss. I found that peoples opinions of me really didn't matter as much as I had always thought, especially the BAU's former section chief. Don't get me wrong I didn't want her dead, but people didn't call her the ice queen for nothing even if it was behind her back.”  
“In other words you didn't care if they liked you or not, you weren't going to put on a façade for them.”  
“Yes, by that time I had a reputation as someone who would go to great lengths to solve a case, although I never actually broke any laws. I also gained a not undeserved reputation at the time as Mr. Stone face, and a hard-nosed person who had no emotions at all.”  
“If people really believed that then they weren't very intelligent or at least never looked past the surface of someone,” Spencer snorted. “Just because you didn't let your emotion show and kept them concealed didn't mean that you didn't have them. You were just better at playacting then most people is all.”  
“I really was kind of a hard-nose in those early years,” Hotch admitted. “The team saw through that of course including Elle Greenway who worked for the BAU, before Rossi came out of retirement.”  
“Well, the others on the team are smart enough to know that just because you act a certain way and have a certain reputation it's not necessarily who you are in your off time. I mean they worked with you day in and day out and they probably couldn't help, but see that you cared about the victims of the people that your unsubs either killed or raped or did any other of a dozen other horrible things that humans can do to each other and if you cared about the victims then there's no way that you could be as unemotional and uncaring as your reputation said.”  
“You're right, Morgan, Rossi, JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia are all intelligent people and also very perceptive. It took awhile, but now they're my family just like you and our three sons. Who cares if none of you, except Jack are related by blood? You are are certainly more my family then my mother.”  
“Yes, I have to admit your mother seems even worse then my father.”   
“Those two would get along great if they ever met since they are very similar personalitywise,” Hotch said. “Both are very prejudiced against same-sex relationships, among other things. I've always been grateful that Sean and I turned out more like our father and then like our mother. My mother considers our relationship an abomination and she's always after me to get a divorce.”  
“I thought you didn't see her much anymore?” asked Spencer in surprise.   
“I don't, but she does call me several times a month trying to get me to leave you. I'm sorry I never told you, but I didn't want to have you to have to deal with my mother, since I know very well how she treated you the one time you met.”  
“It's alright,” Spencer assured him. “I know you were just trying to protect me from her prejudiced views.”  
“I was,” Hotch answered glad that his lover wasn't mad at him.  
“So do you ever answer your cell anymore when your mother calls?” asked Spencer.  
“Not really, although she keeps trying,” Hotch answered. “I just push the end button, without answering. You would think she would give up, after all we've been together for 13 years now, 11 of those married.”  
“You really have to admire her persistence,” Spencer pointed out.   
“No, I don't, she's nothing but a cold-hearted bitch, always has been,” Hotch answered heatedly.  
“So what does she threaten you with to get you to leave me?” asked Spencer.  
“Oh same old, same old, to cut me out of the will, like I care about that and she's even tried to get me to see that my relationship with you is abnormal, disgusting, degrading and that I couldn't possibly be in love with you. She even tried to convince me that you didn't really love me and that you were just using me for your own ends.”  
Spencer growled at that and Hotch looked up into his lover's eyes, which were flashing angrily and when he did it didn't take him more than a few seconds to realize that Spencer wasn't mad at him, but his mother and for that Hotch could hardly blame him. “Don't take it personally that's just the way she is,” Hotch told his mate, with a nonchalant shrug.  
“How could I not take it personally or be upset?” Spencer asked his voice a growl and Hotch was sorry that he had said anything, but his lover had asked and he had never lied to him before and he wasn't about to start now, not matter how upset it made him. “Your mother doesn't even know me and yet she says something so hateful. She's only met me that one time for god's sakes. It's like she tries to control you. She seems to think that she has a right to interfere in your life even though you're 48. You've been on your own for years and you have a right to your own life and to make your own decisions.”  
“I wouldn't worry about it,” Hotch soothed his lover starting to rub circles on his back again. “My mother is in her 80s now and she probably won't live more than a few more years at most. Now you see why I never told you about her continued persistence. I knew you would react like this and I didn't want to cause you any pain, even though I know very well you can handle it.”  
“I've never understood how people can be so nasty and hateful and I'm not just talking about your mother, especially when they don't really know someone at all,” Spencer said now looking more sad then angry now, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “Your mother doesn't know the first thing about me at all and yet she's willing to say such hateful, vile, evil things. I'm not naïve enough to not know there are people like that in the world but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. After all there wouldn't be any reason for any organizations like the FBI, police, national guard that deals with crime if people didn't do nasty things to each other and yes, I realize there is a big difference between people being so mean spirited and nasty to actually committing a crime, but that's how a large percentage of criminals start out when they're born.”  
“I know,” Hotch said as he kissed the top of Spencer's head soothingly. “Some people like my mother were just born mean and hateful.”  
“How did you and Sean turn out so differently?” asked Spencer. Spencer had met Aaron's brother a lot of times and they really liked each other. Sean had always supported his and Aaron's relationship from the first, even if he had been a little surprised that his brother swung that way, which had endured him to Spencer from the beginning.  
“Well, sometimes anyway it's a conscious decision that you don't want to turn out like your parents,” Hotch said looking thoughtful. Hotch didn't like remembering those times, but he was willing to for his mate's sake so that he could help the man he loved understand why his mother was such a piece of work. “It's not always that way for everybody, of course, as some people just have something broken within them that makes them mean-spirited, and nasty, although not necessarily criminals of one sort or another. There's a lot of reasons for people to be bitter, angry, mean, nasty, hateful and any other negative emotion. Some people are just born that way, others have survived child-abuse like Harry for instance or you, but for some there's no known cause for them to turn out like they do. To answer your question, in my case and Sean's it was a conscious decision as neither one of us wanted to turn out like our mother who is a bitter, angry, hateful, and thoroughly nasty woman and she's always been that way for as long as both of us can remember. I was so glad to turn 18 to get away from home to go to college just to get out of the house and away from her, although I was sorry that I had to leave Sean behind.”  
“I'm glad you turned out differently from your mother,” Spencer said softly as he buried his head in Hotch's neck.  
“Me too,” Hotch said. “Even as a child I was never as hateful, or angry or any other things that my mother is.”  
“You know,” Spencer said raising his head a little form his lover's neck. “I've often wondered why your mother has never tried to contact me after we met that one time to try convince me to end our relationship. I would think she would have tried to do that when you weren't in the picture, away on a case or something.”  
“Probably because she knows that if she did I would take legal action against her for harassment,” Hotch said perfectly serious.  
“No! You wouldn't really? Against your own mother? Would you?” asked Spencer truly startled.  
“I would, as I will not have you harassed by her or anyone,” Hotch said his expression deadly serious. “Mother knows me well enough to realize that if she had taken that route and contacted you that I would have taken her to court or at least got a restraining order against her. She knows that I wouldn't have cared if our relationship became general knowledge among her friends and acquaintances, not to mention the community as a whole, and if there's one thing my mother doesn't want is for that to happen as she cares more about the family reputation then anything else.”  
“So it's because of your family's reputation that she hasn't made any trouble for me?” asked Spencer.   
“Oh yes,” Hotch assured his lover. “Our relationship isn't exactly a secret, but it's not really general knowledge either since we live so quietly.”  
“So it's more like an open secret,” Spencer suggested. “One that is generally known, but not really acknowledged.”  
“Yes,” Hotch agreed. “The phrase out of sight, out of mind is appropriate in this case.”  
“Well, to all except you mother apparently,” Spencer said with a grin his good spirits returning, which Hotch was glad to see as it wasn't often that Spencer got upset or angry and it wasn't something he wanted to see again anytime soon.  
“I'm glad you're feeling better,” Hotch told him softly.   
“I just decided that I'm not going to let your mother's hatefulness and spite bother me,” Spencer said truthfully. “I was just so shocked when you told me about your mother's attempts to get you to end our relationship that it took me awhile to realize that I really don't care what she thinks. As long as you and me are together then I'm happy, although I certainly don't envy you for having to keep dealing with your own mother and her constant attempts to get you to dump me, which I know you will never do.”  
“No, I won't, so you don't have to worry about that,” Hotch said. “I love you far too much to leave you for if I did it would destroy both of us and that's a fact.”  
“Yes, it is,” Spencer agreed giving his lover a gentle kiss on the lips, which Hotch returned grateful to have his lover back to his usual self.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

September 5

It was late at night when Spencer's phone buzzed in the quiet room where he and Hotch were sleeping close together. The twins had only been back at school for five days when Morgan's call came to the sleeping Reid/Hotchner household.   
Hotch was a first to wake, but he had only been sleeping lightly and he was used to waking up in an instant when his phone rang even if it was the middle the night and considering it was four in the morning it was definitely still the middle of the night.  
Hotch glanced at the number on the phone and saw it was from Morgan and answered immediately for both he and Spencer had been expecting a call for several weeks as Garcia was supposed to go into labor at anytime. Morgan had been told to call as soon as he could when his wife was about to have the baby and that he and Spencer would meet them at the hospital. Sure he would've liked to have had a couple more hours of sleep, but Garcia and Morgan were part of his and Spencer's extended family and were also very good friends even if technically he was also their unit chief.  
“Yes, Morgan?” Hotch asked answering Spencer's phone since his lover was still half asleep, his voice fully alert. “It's time then? Garcia's in labor and you're at the hospital? How long since her water broke? Spencer I will be there in about an hour.”  
“So I take it from the conversation that Garcia has gone into labor and she and Morgan are at the hospital,” Spencer said looking adorably sleepy.   
“Yes and you need to get up and get dressed as we're supposed to meet them at the hospital.”  
“Alright,” Spencer agreed without argument for once waking up quickly as he was excited to meet his godchild and find out whether it was going to be a girl or a boy.  
“What no grumbling about how you would like to go back to sleep?” asked Hotch amused, although he really hadn't expected an argument in this case as he knew Spencer was excited to meet his godchild and didn't really care if it was a girl or a boy, although he was hoping for a girl since he already had three sons.  
“No, not in this case and you know why so I won't bother repeating myself,” Spencer told his lover with a grin scrambling out of bed so he could begin getting dressed.  
Hotch chuckled and also got up so he could do the same.  
“I can catch up on my sleep tomorrow while I know you have to go into work and that you'll be tired,” Spencer said not bothering with a shower since they were in a hurry.  
“Well, hopefully we won't get called on any cases since we'll be spending who knows how long at the hospital,” Hotch said.   
“Well, this is her first baby and first babies often take their time,” Spencer said, “so depending on how long she's been in labor we could be there until noon or later.”  
“I don't think it'll be that long as Morgan said that she went into labor about 10 o'clock last night and that he just waited until now to call so we wouldn't be sitting around in the waiting room for hours.”  
“So she's been in labor for about six hours,” Spencer said, “so it'll be at least another couple if not 4 or 5, probably anyway.”  
“Actually from what Morgan said she's fully dilated so I figure it probably won't be more than a couple of hours, so long as there aren't any complications.”  
Spencer nodded and knew very well that Hotch might very well be right. “Let's get going,” Spencer said as he finished tying up his tennis shoes.  
“Anxious are you?” Hotch teased his mate tiredly. “You do know it's going to be at least another couple of hours before the baby actually gets here, don't you?”   
“Of course I do,” Spencer said glaring at Hotch briefly.  
“Alright, let's get going,” Hotch said grabbing his keys and his badge.   
“Let me leave Sara a note so that she'll know where we are when she can't find us in the morning,” Spencer said.  
“Ah, that's a good idea,” Hotch agreed glad that his lover had thought of it as neither he or Spencer would want Sara to worry when she discovered they were not in the house.  
Less then five minutes later the two men left the house making sure to set the alarm behind them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Spencer arrived at the hospital to find JJ, Emily and Rossi already there.  
“Well, looks like we're the last two to arrive,” Hotch joked.   
“The rest of us just live closer that's all,” Emily told her boss with a tired grin.  
“None of us has been here all that long, maybe 15 minutes or so,” JJ said looking at her watch.  
“Why don't you two take a seat, it's probably going to be a long wait,” Rossi said and Hotch and Spencer complied without a word.  
“Actually from what Morgan told me Garcia has been in labor since about 10 o'clock last night and he just waited until an hour or so ago to call,” Hotch said. “Apparently he didn't see the point of all of us spending all night at the hospital when we all know how long labor can take, especially since it's a first baby.”  
“That was considerate of him,” Emily said with another tired grin.   
“Yeah, it was,” JJ agreed and everybody else nodded.  
The room fell silent for awhile and finally Spencer took a pack of cards that he had brought along out of his pocket. “Anybody for poker?”   
“What are we playing for?” asked Rossi.  
“How about quarters?” Hotch suggested. “After all we're not trying to win a lot of money off each other as it's just to keep us occupied until Garcia actually gives birth.”  
Rossi looked disappointed but nodded at Hotch suggestion for it was a good one.  
“Alright then,” Spencer said taking the cards out-of-the-box and shuffling them expertly before dealing cards to each player.  
The team played poker and talked quietly and the time passed faster than any of them expected it to and it didn't seem any time at all before Morgan came walking into the waiting room holding a bundle in a pink blanket.  
All five members of the team were up in instant going over to look at the bundle in Morgan's arms.  
“Guys, I'd like to introduce you to our daughter Shandra Laura Morgan,” Morgan said grinning from ear-to-ear.  
“Oh, that's such a pretty name,” JJ squealed quietly so as not to wake the newborn. “Can I hold her?”  
“I think it's only fair if Spencer as the godfather gets to hold her first,” Morgan said grinning at his brother in all but blood.   
Spencer reached out his arms then gently took the bundle from his friend. “Aren't you just the cutest thing,” Spencer told the baby Shandra quietly. Shandra really was a beautiful baby with mocha skin that was several shades lighter then her father's simply because her mother was a white Caucasian female. Shandra blinked her dark eyes sleepily and yawned moving around a little in the blanket that she was wrapped in.  
“You're daughter is going to be a knockout when she grows up, so that you're going to be beating the boys off with a stick,” Emily told Morgan with a grin gazing down at the baby.  
Morgan grinned tiredly and said, “Luckily that's not going to happen for quite a few years.”   
“Keep telling yourself that,” JJ said with a laugh, “by the time she's five or six I wouldn't be surprised if the boys are gathering around her like bees to honey.”  
“Congratulations, Morgan,” Hotch said shaking the other man's hand. “Welcome to the parents club.”  
“Thank you, Hotch,” Morgan said grinning at his boss tiredly. “Why don't you all come back later to visit Penelope as she's sleeping now and probably will be for sometime. She was really tired after such a long labor.”   
“Well, no wonder,” JJ said, “labor isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination so of course she's going to sleep afterwards. I remember well what it was like after I had Henry and how I slept almost the whole day.”  
“Congratulations, Morgan,” Spencer told his friend as he handed the little girl off to JJ who immediately begin cooing at her. “I'm very happy for you and Garcia.”  
“Thank you, Spencer,” Morgan said as he pulled the other man into a manly one armed hug. “I'm so happy I could just burst.”  
“I know exactly how you feel,” Spencer told his friend. “I felt the same way after Lochlan and Landon were born. I think every parent feels the same way when their child enters this world.”  
“I certainly felt that way when Jack was born,” Hotch confirmed as he listened to the conversation. “Every good parent feels like they can take on the world at such moments.”  
“Congratulations from me too,” Rossi told his friend. He might not be part of the team anymore due to his forced retirement, but he was still very good friends with them including the two newest members.  
“Thank you,” Morgan told the older man whom none of the team saw very much of anymore since it was hard to get together.  
Everybody chatted for a few more minutes, but then Morgan took his daughter from Emily who was currently holding her and headed back to his wife's hospital room.  
“I suppose that we had all better head home and get dressed for work,” JJ said, “although what I really want to do is go back to bed and sleep for another three or four hours.”  
“I think all of us feel that way,” Emily told her friend, “and the only ones I can actually do that are Rossi and Spencer.”  
“I'll get a cab back home if you want to going into work,” Spencer told Hotch who was already dressed and ready to go immediately into the BAU.  
“Alright,” Hotch agreed. “I'll see you at home tonight. I do have some paperwork that needs to be done.”  
“Don't you always?” asked Spencer with a tired grin.  
“What can I say governments run on paperwork,” Hotch told his lover with a tired smile.  
“I'll see you at home later,” Spencer said giving his mate a kiss on the cheek before disappearing out the door of the waiting room following the others that had already left.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Lochlan and Landon, age 16

“Dad, Uncle Aaron, can I talk to you?” asked Landon.   
Lochlan and Landon had just gotten home for the summer after spending a couple weeks with the Potters after school had let out for the year.  
“Of course, son,” Spencer said already knowing what was coming. It was hard to believe, but it wouldn't be long before the twins were 17, only about five months really give or take a day or two. Where had the years gone? Spencer wondered. They seemed to have flashed past way too fast.  
The twins were now both 6' 3', which was a couple inches taller than their father or their uncle and where that height had come from Spencer knew had to come from his own father since he was about the same. Clara the twins mother had only been about 5'5, which was average height for a woman so unless she had some tall people in her family the twins height had definitely come from William Reid.  
“Why don't we go to my study, if you want some privacy?” Hotch suggested also knowing what Landon wanted to talk about since both he and Spencer had known this was coming for quite some time. You might ask how you could tell the twins apart considering that they were identical, but Landon, several years ago, had started growing his hair out to his shoulders while Lochlan kept his short. Both twins had decided to do this as they didn't want to be mistaken for each other unlike Fred and George years ago, who hadn't minded not being able to be told apart and in fact took advantage of it to play numerous pranks.  
The three of them entered the study and Spencer closed the door behind them letting the other three people in the house know that this was a private meeting and they didn't want any interruptions.  
“What's bothering you, Landon?” asked Hotch looking at the teenager's worried expression. “You know you can tell me and your father anything and we're not going to judge you for it. Well, unless you've committed a crime and you want to confess,” he added jokingly causing the other two people in the room to laugh and for some of the tension to be released.  
“No, it's nothing like that,” Landon said, although he knew that his Uncle Aaron had just been joking to relieve the tension and wasn't serious.  
“Well then, what is it?” asked Spencer gently. “We can sit here all day you know while you get the courage to tell us something. You don't ever have to be afraid to tell me or Aaron anything as we'll always support you no matter what.”  
“I'm in love,” Landon began and he noticed that neither his father or uncle looked surprised.   
“With Grey?” Spencer asked gently causing Landon to start in surprise.  
“How…?” asked Landon his voice trailing off.   
“How did we know?” asked Hotch looking at the handsome young man that was his mate's son. Landon nodded.   
“Well I know, you are aware that both me and your father are fairly observant and we've known for quite sometime that you and Grey were dancing around each other because of sexual tension,” Hotch told his son not mentioning Lochlan's letter. “Grey has spent quite a lot of time in this house over the past few summers and we couldn't help but notice how you interacted with each other.”  
“We weren't completely sure that you two would ever admit that you liked each other as more than just friends since both of us are very well aware how a lot of people view same-sex relationships,” Spencer added. “You know about a lot of the crap that your uncle and I have had to put up with over the years when people discovered that we were romantically involved and you and Grey are going to face the same prejudices.”  
“I know,” Landon said quietly having gotten over his shock relatively fast. “That was one of the reasons that Grey and I didn't admit our feelings for each other until last year.”  
“So you and Grey are an official couple since last year?” asked Spencer curiously as he hadn't heard anything about this at all.  
“We are,” Landon confirmed, “but we're keeping it quiet because Grey knows that his family will disown him when they find out and while he doesn't really care about that he wants to wait until he's at least 17 and preferably until we both graduate.”  
Hotch and Spencer nodded in agreement because they had met Grey's parents once or twice and they hadn't liked them at all. Grey's parents, Agatha and Conrad Owens were very stiff and proper and were always admonishing their son for every little thing or at least that was what the two of them had observed when they had met them in Diagon Alley that one time. Of course the Owens didn't like them very much either, which was partly because they were a same-sex couple, which Hotch and Spencer refused to hide just to make some people happy or more comfortable and also partly because they were muggles without an ounce of magic.  
Harry and Ginny had warned them long ago that there was still quite a few magical folks, mostly the older generation, that were very prejudiced against muggles in general and the muggle world in particular. Some magical folks didn't bother to get to know anything about muggles or their world at all just because it was large, strange, complicated and had things in it that they didn't want to understand.  
The Owens would have made good Slytherins instead of Ravenclaws, but most of their family for generations had always been in the house of the intelligent. The Owens one saving grace in Spencer's and Hotch's opinion was that they didn't have anything against muggle-borns or half-bloods and had been nowhere near joining the ranks of the Death Eaters during the war.  
The Owens hadn't minded that Grey had made friends with Lochlan and Landon, but they were sure that once they found out that Landon and their son were involved that opinion was going to change, not that it would matter by then since both boys would be 17.  
“Are you sure you and Grey are ready to face all the problems this is going to cause, especially with his family?” asked Spencer of his son. “We have nothing against your relationship as that would be hypocritical, considering that Aaron and I are the same way.” Both men looked at each other and smiled. “The two of us are just a little concerned about what the Owens reaction is going to be.”  
“You've met them and Grey knows that their reaction is going to be rather… explosive to say the least, but there will be nothing they can do once he turns 17.”  
“They can and probably will say nasty things about you and our family as well as their own son,” Hotch warned Landon seriously. “I still get calls from my mother once or twice a month saying nasty things about my relationship with your father. I don't even answer them anymore since I know my mother will never change, are you sure you and Grey are prepared for that?”  
“I know I love him,” Landon said immediately, blushing a little. “I loved him for years before we actually admitted our feelings for each other, I just never acknowledged that until last year. We've been best friends since we both started Hogwarts along with Michelle, Art, Lily and Lochlan of course and I know that that is going to be a solid foundation on which to build our relationship.”  
“So long as you are aware that the Owens will not be pleased,” Hotch said. “Your father and I will support you in anyway that we can.”  
“Thank you,” Landon said as he hugged both his father and his uncle.   
“You're more than welcome, son,” Spencer said accepting the hug with pleasure. “Both Aaron and I love you and your brother and we would never abandon you just because of your sexual orientation.”  
“Deep down I knew that,” Landon said, “but that didn't mean that it made it any easier to admit to you.”   
“I can certainly understand that,” Hotch said looking at Spencer who nodded in agreement. “It's always hard to realize that you're different from your peers and admitting that out loud even to two people you know love you is even harder.”  
“So how long have you and Grey been together?” asked Spencer.   
Landon relaxed completely as the tension left his body and started to tell them all about how he and Grey had gotten together.  
“It was actually Grey who was the first to admit that he had feelings for me. He was very nervous as you can imagine when he told me because he wasn't sure how I was going to react. It was really very strange, it was late at night and we were both still studying at one of the tables in the common room since we had a test the next day. Suddenly Grey looks up from his studying and snaps his book closed. It startled me as I'm sure you can guess since I was so deeply involved in studying for that test. I looked over at him and he had the oddest expression on his face one that I had never seen before.  
“I asked him what was wrong and at first he didn't answer me but then he seemed to come to a decision of some kind for he came and sat next to me instead of across from me. He asked me quietly if I had ever thought about a relationship with another guy. He knew about your relationship by then because by that point we had told each other about our families after we had gotten to know each other several years ago and he had of course met you. He said that he'd had dreams for several years about making out with another man instead of a girl. He'd dated some girls true, but only because he knew his family would be displeased if they found out he was gay. Dating those girls never did anything for him no matter how much he kissed them or tried to think of them sexually instead of just as friends. He finally had to admit to himself that he was gay and he knew his family would be really upset when they found out. By the time he was 13 he had resigned himself to the fact that his parents were going to disown him as soon as they found out.”  
“So when did he figure out that he liked you as more than just a friend?” asked Spencer when Landon didn't continue.  
“Well he did admit that his wet dreams had involved me ever since he had started having them and that was when he finally accepted that he was gay. Even before those wet dreams he had always found boys oddly attractive to him, although he never said anything to anyone for obvious reasons.”  
“How does he know it was you and not your brother?” Hotch asked curiously. “I mean you are identical twins after all.”   
“In looks yes,” Landon agreed calmly, “but not in personality. I will admit that Lochlan's and my personalities are very similar, but not exactly the same. We're not like Fred and George who act exactly alike on purpose just to confuse everybody they knew, including their own family.”  
“That's accurate,” Spencer agreed. “Your personalities are very similar, but they're enough differences that it's relatively easy to tell you apart, if you're fairly observant or by someone who knows you well.”  
“In any case the reason that Grey knew that it was me that he was dreaming about was that whenever he looked at me and my brother he got butterflies in his stomach when he looked at me, but not when he looked at my brother.”  
“It must be some kind of signals going to his brain on a subconscious level,” Spencer mused. “You and Lochlan are very similar, as we said a minute ago, but Grey's brain, probably picked up on the subtle differences in the way you two act or possibly by scent.”  
“Probably,” Landon agreed, “at least at first. Now it's easy to tell us apart thanks to my hair being to my shoulders and Lochlan's still being so short.”  
“So Grey admitted his feelings for you and how did you react to that?” asked Hotch. “You never did say.”   
“I was stunned at first,” Landon admitted truthfully, “especially since I had been harboring feelings for Grey ever since I was about 14 and it might have been even earlier, but I didn't really start getting interested in that kind of thing until then. Part of the reason for that is because Loch and I were still getting used to the magical world and so we didn't really have time to think about that kind of thing and also part of it was that we just were just late bloomers. Loch and I weren't like Grey who had been part of the magical world his whole life since his family has been magical for about a hundred years. I've known for quite awhile that I am bisexual and not straight gay so for me it could have gone either way as I've had wet dreams about both males and females.”  
“Like father, like son,” Spencer said with a grin.   
“Anyway,” Landon said. “I sat there stunned as various scenarios ran through my mind for quite awhile and Grey started to turn away looking ready to cry. He apologized to me and said that he shouldn't have said anything it all and that was what spurred me into action. I was out of my chair and across the room so fast you would think I had Apparated, which is impossible in Hogwarts since there are ancient wards against that kind of thing. I grabbed Grey by the back of his robes and spun him around, before he could head up to our dorm and kissed him directly on the mouth hard.”  
“Well that was certainly bound to get his attention,” Hotch said coughing to cover a laugh while Spencer did the same.   
“Trust me it was the only way,” Landon said not offended at his parents laughter for he knew very well what that part of his story sounded like. “You don't know Grey as well as I do, but trust me if I had let him get up that staircase and into bed then told him in the morning I would've had a hell of a time convincing him that I liked him the same way. If I had waited to tell him how I felt I guarantee you he would've thought that I was just saying that so that I didn't hurt his feelings and that I didn't really like him as much as he did me. Kissing him like I did was the only immediate way to convince him that I felt the same way about him without a lot of heartache for both of us. Grey's stubborn that way and has been taught his whole life that love is an inconvenience. Unlike with my brother, me and Jack he was never hugged as a child or even paid much attention to except when he was being berated or punished for something.”  
Spencer and Hotch winced at that and felt sorry for Grey who was a good kid. “Poor kid,” Spencer said sympathetically.  
“Was he physically abused?” asked Hotch.   
“Yes,” Landon said quietly, “although it was mostly just neglect and being treated like he wasn't wanted and was a mistake. Kind of like what Uncle Harry went through, except that Grey wasn't treated like a servant and made to do all the chores as the Owens had a house-elf for that since their background is fairly wealthy.”  
“Didn't Harry tell us a few years ago that there were laws for the protection of the children now,” Hotch asked.   
“He did,” Spencer replied immediately, “but it also has to be reported and a lot of times it isn't. It's just like in our world where every single case of child abuse is not caught no matter how much you wish they were and those people made to pay for what they did to innocent children.”  
Hotch nodded and knew it was true. “Have you figured out what you and Grey are going to do if the Owens find out about your relationship before he turns 17? You might not want it to happen, but it very well could as people gossip and gossip travels.”  
“Yes, I know,” Landon agreed looking worried. “The Hogwarts grapevine is usually pretty accurate and to answer your question no neither Grey or I had thought about that, but now that you've pointed out it could very well be a problem as some of the Slytherins in particular, although they are not the only ones, would just love for the information about our relationship to get out.”  
“We could take Grey in,” Spencer suggested. “I'm assuming that he would be a ward of the government if he's disowned and that he'd probably end up in an orphanage for the summer at least since he'll be 17 pretty soon.”  
“I'm hoping we can keep it under wraps the last couple of years,” Landon said, “although I know it's always good to have a backup plan.”  
“Taking Grey in is a good idea so long as it can be done legally,” Hotch said thoughtfully. “I don't want any angry parents showing up at our door demanding to know what we did with their son. I know that's unlikely, but I'd still rather have legal leg to stand on just in case. Also there is such things as visas passports and the like that allow Grey to be in the country legally for more than just a short visit.”  
“We need to talk this over with Grey or actually you do,” Spencer told his son. “See if he's at least willing to come live with us before we talk to Harry and put our plan into motion. Really I would prefer to have everything set up before you guys go back to school just so be on the safe side, although I know that's not really possible.”  
“Even if Grey's parents don't find out until after he is 17 where will he live for the summer before his last year at Hogwarts, since I'm assuming he won't have any money,” asked Hotch.  
“Do you think the British Ministry of Magic is going to let two America muggles take in a boy whose British?” asked Landon looking hopeful. “Grey isn't from an important pureblooded family or anything, but sometimes the government of a different country can be really funny about things like that.”  
“You're right,” Hotch told Landon, “but what you didn't figure into the equation was that we have Harry Potter in our family and he has a lot of useful political connections, which I am sure he would be more than willing to exercise some of on your friend's behalf.”  
“He will,” Spencer said with certainty. “He would never want another child to go through what he did when he was the same age and that Grey has had to live with being abused for all of his life, will make him furious. He'll be more than willing to go up against the entire Wizengamot if he must if it can't be arranged quietly, which I know you and Grey would prefer.”  
“He's not going to be happy that I told you about the abuse,” Landon told them looking worried. “It took him forever to just open up to me, Lochlan, Art, Lily and Michelle as he didn't want any of us to pity him. In fact it was only last year that he finally told us about what his home life was like, although Lochlan and I suspected that it hadn't been good, because of the way his parents acted a couple of times we met them.”  
“This is why so many children that are abused never come forward,” Hotch said with certainty. “Because they're so ashamed of what they suffered they never want to let anyone in enough to actually get help. It's part of human nature to think that being abused is all your fault because you did something that caused it, but this theory is untrue, but it doesn't mean that's not the way a lot of children or even adults think.”  
“You were abused to, weren't you, Uncle Aaron?” asked Landon in sudden understanding.   
“Yes,” Hotch said simply not going into detail.  
Spencer took Hotch's hand and gave it a loving squeeze, which Aaron returned.  
“You already knew that I was abused by my father,” Spencer told his son, “which is the reason I never wanted you or your brother to meet him because if he could neglect his own son what do you think he'd do to his grandsons? I was never physically abused like your friend Grey or like Aaron, but that doesn't mean I wasn't neglected and made to feel unloved as my own father spent more time with the neighborhood kids then with his own son.”  
“You just tell Grey that we think he's brave young man for opening up to the three of you at all for 85 percent of children never do speak up about the abuse they suffered and they carry it with them for the rest of their lives,” Hotch told Landon. “It's not that you ever forget what happened to you as a child, but you have to make a conscious decision as to the way you want to turn out and be for the rest of your life. A lot of children that were abused turn bitter and hateful, by the time they are grown and keep up the cycle of abuse with their own families. Sometimes they also turn into criminals as I have caught more then one unsub over the years that was that way only because of the extreme level of abuse that they suffered.”  
“Also some children never have any support, as just having friends helps, even if they never know what you truly went through, which is another reason so many of them turn so bitter and hateful,” Spencer added.  
“What made a difference for you dad?” asked Landon truly curious.   
“Well, I had my mother and even though she has paranoid schizophrenia she still went out of her way to show me she loved me at least in her lucid moments and that helped.” Spencer said. “Also there was Niko who was the owner of a café that the whole family used to visit often before my father left and he and his wife showed me that they loved and cared about me to. Those kind of experiences stay with you and so I knew that I could never time bitter and hateful like so many children do that have suffered abuse.”  
“Grey has never had that kind of support, well not until he met Art, Michelle, Lochlan and I anyway,” Landon said, “and two years later Lily.”  
“Your friendship is probably what made all the difference, son,” Spencer said. “I'm sure Grey would tell you that if it wasn't for you four he might have turned bitter and angry.”  
Landon brightened at this and he said, “Thanks, dad.”   
“You're welcome,” Spencer assured him.  
“Now we need to meet with Grey before the summer is over so we can put certain plans into motion,” Hotch said. “Really there's only about a month left of the summer and I have a feeling we need to make arrangements sooner rather then later.”  
“Have you turned into a seer now, Uncle Aaron?” asked Landon teasingly and Hotch laughed.   
“No, nothing like that, Landon. You can call it my vast experience with human nature as I know the way gossip can travel at the speed of light. I give it only until maybe Halloween before the news of your relationship reaches Grey's parents since I know you and Grey aren't going to want to hide your relationship.”  
“We haven't gotten much past holding hands and kissing,” Landon said blushing, which both Spencer and Hotch thought was adorable. Oh to be young again and in the midst of your first romance, they both thought. “We're taking our relationship slowly and try to act normally when there are other people around and not because we are ashamed to be seen together, but just because our relationship is still so new and we want to keep it to ourselves for the moment.”  
“Well, if that's the case then it might be Christmas before the news gets out but it won't be much past that and probably sooner since scandals tend to travel fast,” Hotch said. “All it will take is for somebody to see you holding hands or kissing and after that it won't be long before the news gets around the school and then to the parents.”  
“It will be something of a scandal won't it,” Landon mused not looking at all disturbed by that revelation.  
“I see that doesn't upset you like I thought it would,” Spencer said to his son.  
“I'm kind of used to it,” Landon explained. “There have been rumors going around about Lochlan and me ever since we started at Hogwarts, especially after your relationship came out.”  
“How did our relationship make the Hogwarts rumor mill?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.  
“It started after Lochlan was put in the hospital wing after that Quidditch match when we were 13 if you remember.”  
“Yes, he'd been hit by a Bludger and had his arm broken, as well as fallen, about thirty feet after being knocked off his broom,” Spencer remembered. “We were of course contacted by the school, through Harry.”  
“We rushed to the school to see how he was doing right away,” Hotch remembered.  
“It was a good thing that Harry came to tell us about the incident and to transport us since we never could have gotten there so fast without the help of magic since we live in the States and Hogwarts is in Scotland and that would have been a very long flight,” Spencer recalled.  
“Magic sure does make certain things easier doesn't it?” asked Landon with a grin.   
“Yes, it does,” Hotch admitted. “I mean we got there in just a couple of minutes and it would've been at least a 7 hour flight, depending on what part of Scotland we were going to.”  
“By the time we got there his arm had already been healed and Madam Pomfrey was just keeping him overnight for observation.”  
“Well, that was when the rumors started,” Landon explained. “Apparently a couple of the students had come to Madam Pomfrey and they saw you two sitting by Lochlan's bed holding hands and kissing. Ever since then we've been the subject of some nasty rumors and Lochlan and I have just had to learn to ignore them just like Uncle Harry had to do when he went to school since there were always rumors going on about him.”  
“And you never mentioned this why?” asked Spencer looking upset.  
“We thought you had enough to deal with and there wasn't anything you could really do about it,” Landon explained his head dropping down in shame. “Lochlan and I dealt with it, mostly by ignoring it.”  
“We should've been more discrete,” Hotch said looking ashamed of himself. “If only we hadn't been caught holding hands and kissing you wouldn't have had to put up with people saying nasty things about you behind your back.”  
“That's not true Uncle Aaron and you know it,” Landon told him looking up. “People will be nasty no matter the reason as some people just think that way and don't care who they hurt. That we both had American accents was enough of a reason for some kids to pick on us and we were also teased for being brainiacs because we did well in class and were always raising our hands to answer questions. So what if some of the kids are being nasty, that would happen anywhere, no matter what school we went to and really it's just a fact of life. Besides it's really nobodies business what your relationship is. You came to sit by one of your sons in the infirmary when he had been hurt with no women in a plain sight it would have been assumed that you were in a relationship anyway. Some kids just love to start rumors whether there's any truth to them or not and you both know this. Lochlan and I dealt with it, by just basically ignoring it, which told everyone that the rumors might not be true after all.”  
“When you ignore something like that they evidently die down,” Spencer murmured knowing this from experience.  
“Exactly,” Landon said.   
“When did you and your brother go and grow up on us?” Hotch asked with a twitch of his lips that Landon knew was a repressed smile.  
“They've always been mature for their ages, as you know,” Spencer's told Aaron before turning back to his son. “I'm still upset that you didn't tell us about these rumors, but I do understand why since there was nothing we could have done about them.”  
“We had Uncle Harry to talk to,” Landon said. “He's the one that gave us advice about how to deal with the situation since he had been there himself when he went to school.”  
“So I take it your relationship with Grey is serious?” Spencer asked changing the subject, which Landon knew meant he had won.   
“Yes, very serious,” Landon admitted. “I dated some girls of course, but all I could think about when I did was Grey and it was then I knew that I was hopelessly in love.”  
“That sounds familiar,” Hotch said with a twitch of his lips.  
“I don't really give a damn what people think of my and Grey's relationship,” Landon said and neither Hotch or Spencer admonished him for his use of language since they understood exactly how their son felt. “We love each other and Art, Lily, Michelle and Lochlan will accept it as will most of our other friends and that's all that matters.”  
“So is it legal for two men to get married in the British wizarding world?” asked Spencer curiously. “I know it's not legal in England, but wizarding England is really a totally different culture.”  
“No,” Landon answered. “I asked Harry about that since he knows about our relationship and he said that it isn't.”  
“So if you do want to get married you'll have to do it in the States,” Hotch said.   
“Our relationship hasn't gotten that far yet, Uncle Aaron,” Landon said blushing at that thought. “Grey and I are only 16 after all.”  
“Yes but you'll be of legal age in just five months,” Spencer pointed out with a grin causing Landon to blush again.  
“If we do go that route we'll wait until after we graduate and get our careers started. We may just decide to live together and not get legally married,” Landon said. “Actually coming to live here in America might not be a bad idea actually, since it would put considerable distance between Grey and his parents. Besides I may be a legal age in five months, but Grey won't turn 17 until near the end of the school year, since his birthday's in April and also we have two more years to go not just one and I for one am going to finish my education. “  
“Have you decided what you want to do after you graduate?” asked Hotch.  
“No, not really, except that I don't want to work in the ministry since I couldn't put up with the politics that are involved as I don't have the patience for that crap.”  
“You don't necessarily have to work in the wizarding world you know,” Spencer pointed out logically after shooting his son a stern look for his use of language. “You and Lochlan could go to college after you graduate and choose a career.”  
“We'll see,” Landon said noncommittally. “I'm not sure I could do another four or five years of education after just taking the N.E.W.T.s, especially if they're anything like the O.W.L.s. Actually I've heard they're much worse and I've seen N.E.W.T. students studying frantically for their exams. We might decide to take a year off after we graduate, kind of a gap year, before we think about college and that's only if we don't decide on jobs within the wizarding world.”  
“Did you ever think about trying to create your own business?” Hotch suggested. “Something that's never been done before in the wizarding world.”   
“Like what?” asked Landon.  
“Anything that interests you,” Hotch said. “You've always been into computers and electronics I don't know why you can't introduce those to witches and wizards.”  
“Electronics don't work around a lot of magic though,” Landon protested. “They just fizz out.”  
“I'm sure electronics don't work in places like Hogwarts where there's a great deal of magic being done, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't work in individual homes,” Spencer said. “I don't see why people can't have one room where no magic is allowed so that electronics work. You don't necessarily have to sell computers, but what about other electronics? Toys and games, TVs, DVD players and things like that.”  
Landon looked thoughtful and Spencer knew that he had planted a seed that would continue to grow over time. “I've heard that you can get electronics to work around magic by the use of runes,” Landon finally said. “The only problem is you have to be able to take something apart and put the runes in the appropriate places and then put it back together again. For something like a CD player that would probably be simple, but not computers or TV or most other electronics.”  
“You're clever though and if anybody could learn how to do that you could,” Hotch said. “You've always had a way with any kind of electronics so it might be trial and error at first, but it could be done.”  
“I could ruin a lot of expensive electronic equipment that way,” Landon protested.   
“So we'll get some old things to practice on,” Spencer suggested, “Older models that are used so that if you ruin it won't be that much money lost.”  
“I'll think about it,” Landon promised. “The idea certainly has merit and I am taking runes.”   
“And maybe you could go to college in case that doesn't work out,” Hotch suggested.   
“We'll see,” Landon said in a noncommittal tone. “We might want to think about the fact that the wizarding world might not accept stuff like electronics even if they work by magic, simply because they're muggle made.”  
“The younger generation probably will,” Spencer said. “Besides in America they're not so uptight or bound by tradition about that kind of thing at least from what I've seen and you did suggest that Grey and you could move here. I for one would love to have you so close to home.”  
This was very true for the whole family had been to the American version of Diagon Alley except it was an actual shopping mall that was mostly underground. The wizarding mall had just about everything, wand shop, bookstore, a store where you could buy parchment, ink and quills, although they also sold regular notebook paper and pens for those who weren't so old fashioned. They had an exotic pet shop, that sold everything from owls, to cats, to parrots and any kind of animal in between. They even had a robe shop that also had regular muggle type clothes, like jeans and t-shirts. Wizarding America seemed considerably less old fashioned then wizarding England and the magical community didn't seem so steeped in tradition or intent on keeping their world in the Victorian era. The one thing they didn't have was electronics since they still went haywire when there was a lot of magic involved. They had some things like record players that had been enchanted to work around magic, but such things weren't really in fashion anymore considering it was the 21st century.  
“Hmm, I might need to take some college courses after all, although I'm not promising to take the full experience,” Landon said, looking thoughtful.  
“Why don't you write to Grey and ask him to meet you in the Leaky Cauldron,” Hotch suggested. “After that all of us can go somewhere more private to have our discussion as you wouldn't want anybody to overhear.”  
“How am I going to explain to him that I told you about the abuse? It took him forever to tell us about it and we had to pretend that we didn't pity him.”  
“All we can do is hope,” Spencer said. “Perhaps if Aaron and I tell him some about our own experiences he'll see that you did the right thing and Landon you shouldn't pity him you should be proud that he has turned into such a compassionate young man considering what he went through. I know you have never experienced abuse first hand as your uncle and I love you and your brothers, but as we said earlier a lot of children who are abused turn bitter and hateful and it says a lot about Grey that he hasn't. It shows just how strong he is and I'm not talking about physically, but mentally and emotionally.”  
“I never thought about it like that,” Landon said, “but you're right I shouldn't pity him and instead I should pity his parents for not loving their own son. I don't know how some parents can abuse their own child, although I know it happens.”  
“I agree,” Hotch said. “I come across a lot of that kind of thing in my line of work and I've never been under able to really understand it.”  
“I'll call Grey and ask him to meet me in the Leaky Cauldron, maybe this weekend?” Landon suggested  
“That would probably be best since both Aaron and I should be free,” Spencer said, “and what do you mean call?”  
“Oh didn't I tell you?” Landon asked innocently. “Lochlan, Grey and I created these mirrors that you can talk into. It's kind a like making a phone call, except you call out the name of the person that has one of the other mirrors and if they can answer it they will and their face will appear in your mirror. If they aren't free to answer it it will vibrate to let them know that they have a call.”  
“Wow! That sounds really neat,” Spencer said impressed and Hotch also looked very amazed. “I can't imagine what went into making something like that.”  
“A lot of work, dad,” Landon told him. “We found the original spell in a book in the Hogwarts library, but it was only good between two mirrors, not three or more, so instead of carrying half a dozen mirrors around Lochlan, Grey and I worked at modifying the spell so that it would work with any number of them.”  
“I bet you could have that patented and sold in the magical world,” Hotch said.   
“Probably,” Landon agreed, “but if we did that all three of us would get an even split of the money since we were all involved in creating the spells that make them work.”  
“You know that's another idea for a career for you,” Spencer said. “From what I know creating spells isn't easy and if you can to do that you could make yourselves a fortune.”  
“You're right,” Landon said, “I did some research into that and spell crafters can make a whole whack of money because they're so rare. You need to take both runes and arithmancy though in order to be able to do that.”  
“And all three of you are taking both of those,” Hotch said.   
“We are,” Landon said, “and all three of us are excellent in both subjects as you know. Grey in particular seems to have a knack for runes.”  
“Landon, to get back to the previous subject I want you know that we would never let anything bad happen to Grey even if he wasn't so important to you,” Spencer promised his son. “You know that in this family we have a lot of very powerful connections and friends even in England.”  
“Both of us have often wished that child abuse could be eradicated completely as no child should be treated with anything but love,” Hotch added. “We know that's not really possible and that child protection services probably doesn't catch more than 45 or 50% of child abuse cases.”  
“Sometimes the people who sign up to be foster parents aren't any better then the parents that abused their own children though,” Spencer said.  
“Unfortunately true,” Hotch admitted. “We can discuss this again once we talk to Grey, and you need to go do that as it will take us awhile to arrange things.”  
“Alright,” Landon agreed. “Thank you.”   
“You don't need to thank us,” Spencer told his son with a smile. “We would've done something for Grey even if you two weren't involved.”  
“I know,” Landon said simply, “and that's what makes you two so special as most people wouldn't want to get involved at all.”  
Landon turned to go and didn't see the look that Hotch and Spencer exchanged as he opened the study door and headed up to his room so he could contact Grey.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch's prediction had proved incredibly accurate and it was just a couple weeks before Christmas when one of the Slytherins had caught Grey and Landon snogging in a broom closet. Word had spread around the school at practically warp speed and it was only hours later that the whole of Hogwarts knew that Landon and Grey were gay. It was only a day later that Grey's parents had shown up at the school and demanded to know what was going on and how their son could do such a thing.  
Grey when he had learned that Landon had told his parents about his abuse had been upset and felt that his friend turned boyfriend had betrayed him, but then both Spencer and Hotch had a talk with him and told him all about how they had been abused to just in different ways and that Landon had known this when he told them. He had known that his father and uncle out of everybody would understand what Grey had been going through and that Landon hadn't wanted for his friend to be thrown out on the street when his parents found out about their relationship.  
By the time they were done gently explaining things to Grey had looked stunned, which neither man could blame him for.  
Grey had came around remarkably fast and both Spencer and Hotch put that down to the fact that he and Landon had been friends since they were 11 and that Grey trusted him more than anybody else. Grey had known deep down that Landon never would have told them if he hadn't had to and when he understood that they were going to make arrangements to take him in if his parents did disown him he forgave his boyfriend as he had worried about what he was going to do when his parents found out about his relationship with Landon. Grey hadn't been about to give Landon up because he had been hopelessly in love with his best friend for a long time before he ever admitted his feelings. The one thing he had feared was not being disowned as that would have been kind of a relief, but being pulled out of school and he would've had no choice, but to go with them at least until he turned 17, and his birthday wasn't until April.  
Grey had been very enthusiastic about the idea of coming to live with Landon's family as he had been over their house for part of the summer for several years now and knew that he would never be beaten for the slightest infraction and would always have enough to eat. One of the things he liked best about being away from home was that he was away from his parents who tended to abuse him from the moment he stepped in the door to the moment he left for school. Oh it wasn't mostly physical abuse, just mental and emotional where they berated him and if they weren't doing that, neglected him, although to be honest he preferred the neglect as it meant that he was left alone. They also tended to starve him and Grey always tried to make sure that he saved what little bit of money he got and bought nonperishable snacks and things to eat at home so at least he wouldn't be hungry all the time. Eating chocolate for at least a couple of meals a day wasn't exactly very healthy, but he didn't really have any choice in the matter at least while he was at home.  
The last three summers had been better since he was invited to spend some time with Lochlan and Landon at their home and their housekeeper Sara was a spectacular cook. Grey had often wondered why his parents let him go to his friends houses and stay away for weeks at a time considering how they treated him when he was home and he had finally come to the conclusion that they didn't want to make anybody suspicious if he told them he couldn't come and come up with some sort of lame excuse as to why not.  
And yes, his friends would have been very suspicious as to why he couldn't come and spend part of the summers with them as they knew him very well and knew he would be excited to spend some time having fun with his friends. Of course all his good friends knew about the abuse now, but that hadn't been true for the first four years.  
Now thanks to Lochlan and Landon's family he was going to live in their house doing the Christmas holidays and summer. It also turned out that Harry Potter was a very distant cousin to the Reids and he too had gone to bat for him and had helped arrange everything so that when the inevitable happened they would be prepared. Normally when somebody was disowned they became a ward of the government, especially if they didn't have any other family to take them in and n Grey's case he didn't.  
Grey was just glad that his parents had decided to disown him instead dragging him back home. Perhaps it was because they knew if they had taken him back home he would've been out of their legally when he was 17, which was only a few months away, although he knew it would have seemed much longer then that simply because of the abuse he knew would be heaped on him in those few months. Or perhaps they knew that Harry Potter would never allow them to take him and abuse him for those months and that he would do everything in his power to get him out of there and that power was considerable. His parents knew that Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord when he was just 17 and didn't want to go against someone like that. He also had a great deal of political power with a seat on the Wizengamot and he knew the Minister of Magic personally. The reason they had let him go so easily, at least as far as he could guess was that his parents wouldn't want anybody looking too closely into their affairs as he was sure there were some things that would put both of them in Azkaban if they were discovered and that was only if they managed to escape the child abuse charges as he could bring such charges against them as soon as he turned 17 if he wanted to.  
It was probably also the reason why they disowned him instead of trying to drag him back home since this way they could prevent the Aurors from looking more deeply into their affairs, although he could still press charges if he wanted once he reached his 17th birthday.  
Grey was glad that he was an only child even though it had been very lonely because he knew that if he'd had a brother and sister that they either would've turned out like his parents or they too would have been abused, so it was just as well.  
“You okay?” Landon asked and the concern in his voice jerked Grey out of his thoughts.   
“I'm fine,” Grey assured his boyfriend.   
The two of them along with Art, Lily, Lochlan and Michelle were sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts Express going home for the Christmas hols. Well actually Grey was going to spend a couple of days with the Potters, along with the twins and then he was going home with Lochlan and Landon for the rest of the holiday.  
None of Landon's and Grey's true friends had abandoned them when they found out that they were dating each other, although some of their more casual acquaintances, ones that they had been friendly with, but weren't in their inner circle, had been keeping their distance since the news had spread, which had hurt, but it would have been worse if it had been any of the ones that they were now sharing their compartment with.  
“You seemed deep in thought,” Lochlan commented grinning at his friend. He hadn't really been surprised when Landon and Grey had admitted their feelings for each other, but then he had seen it coming for quite some time.  
“Just thinking about how my life has changed in the last couple of weeks,” Grey admitted.  
“I would think you would be happy about getting away from that horrible family of yours,” Michelle said.   
“Oh I am,” Grey assured her. “I was just surprised that they didn't really put up a fight and let me go so easily.”  
“They did come to the school and threaten to pull you out,” Landon pointed out.  
“That's why I'm so surprised they didn't actually do it,” Grey admitted. “I know I'll be 17 in just a few months so they wouldn't be able to keep me very long, but I really didn't want to have to repeat a year.”  
“Or be separated from Landon,” Art suggested with a knowing grin.   
“That too,” Grey admitted leaning over and kissing Landon on the cheek causing the other boy to blush, which made the others laugh at him good-naturedly.  
“I feel,” Lochlan said slowly, “that had a lot to do with Uncle Harry coming to bat for you. I mean he whispered something in both their ears and that seemed to make them decide to not try to pull you home, but disown you instead.”  
“I'm glad, because I'm not sure I would have survived if they had managed to drag me back home. It's not that they beat me a lot when I was younger just neglected me or always making snide little innuendos about me. That might have changed though if they had managed to pull me out of Hogwarts as I have never in all my life seen my father so angry,” Grey shuddered.  
“I wonder what dad said,” Lily wondered speaking for the first time, although she had been paying close attention to the conversation.   
“I have no idea,” Grey admitted and Landon shook his head to say he didn't know either. “I've never seen either of my parents go that shade of white before though, so whatever your dad said couldn't have been good as every ounce of blood drained from their faces.”  
“If I had to guess,” Art said, “it was probably along the lines of that if you pursue this I will make sure you pay for all the abuse you put your son through or something to that effect. Dad was abused to you know, just like you Grey, and there's no way he would have let you be put in such a situation again once he knew about it that is.”  
“Art is right,” Lily told Grey. “Dad has always had a pet peeve against child abuse, if you know what I mean, not that you can blame him for that considering his aunt and uncle abused him from the time he was left on their doorstep.”  
“Yes, I do, understand now why your dad came to bat for me,” Grey said slowly as he had been unaware that Harry Potter to had been abused, but then he was sure that it wasn't well known and probably something of a family secret.  
“Just don't tell him we told you,” Art said, “he doesn't really like to talk about it and you can't really blame him for that. He wasn't physically abused mostly, but like you he was mentally and emotionally abused and also treated like a servant. From the time he was old enough to reach the stove he was made to cook and clean and do everything instead of them doing it themselves. Also his fat lazy lump of a cousin was allowed to bully him, so even if his aunt and uncle never physically hit him his cousin Dudley and his gang would if they could catch him that is.”  
“Art is right,” Lochlan said, “when we first became aware that Harry and his family were distant cousins he showed us some of his memories in a Pensieve including some of his childhood years. I know he didn't show us everything, but what he showed us was enough that it made my parents boiling mad and both of them wanted to go hunt down the Dursleys and do something drastic. My father normally isn't one to lose his temper like that, but that time was a rare exception.”  
“Yeah, I agree,” Landon said with a nod. “Dad is usually pretty even-tempered and not much gets him angry, but that time was one of the rare exceptions.”  
“Uncle Aaron isn't really one to lose his temper very often either,” Lochlan added. “He has one and he has been known to lose it, but normally, not much can get him mad.”   
Art and Lily both nodded in agreement for they had both become quite close to Spencer and Aaron in the last few years and knew it was true.  
“You're really lucky,” Grey told Landon in Lochlan sounding wistful. “You're lucky that you have two parents that love you so much. Who cares if only one of them is related to you by blood, it doesn't really matter because I know your Uncle Aaron loves you just as much as your dad does.”  
“They love you too, mate,” Landon said giving Grey's hand a squeeze. “They never would have offered to take you in and they didn't care about you a great deal. Yes, you're my friend, but they would've made other arrangements for you and not offered you a place in their home if they didn't already love you. When dad, Uncle Aaron and I had our conversation back in the summer and I confessed that I was in love with you they weren't really surprised as they had already suspected that was the case and that we were just not admitting our feelings for each other.”  
“Was I really that obvious?” asked Grey.   
“No,” Landon assured him. “It's just that my dad and uncle are really observant. Part of that is that my Uncle Aaron is a profiler and works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU for short, but what that means is that you have to be observant and also intelligent since they only take the best.”  
“What exactly is the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Behavioral Analysis Unit?” asked Grey looking confused.  
“It's part of the muggle US government,” Landon began to explain. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation does a lot of things like tracking down serial killers that somebody who kills again and again sometimes across state lines, they deal with counterfeiters, somebody who likes to make fake money that looks enough like the real thing to fool most people, but has the same serial numbers and a lot of others crimes. The BAU is always getting called in by local police forces, who are like the Aurors, in different cities to help them catch criminals that they aren't trained to catch. The BAU requires you to be observant, intelligent, and always polite no matter how much the locals resent you being there. The BAU team gathers information and studies the bodies of the people that are murdered and from that they form what is known as a profile, which they then deliver to the police or other form of law enforcement and most of the time that helps them catch the person or persons that is doing the killing.”  
“Landon, it might just be easier if when we get home for the holidays we simply loan Grey here Uncle Dave's books and maybe that will help him understand rather then you try to explain it,” Lochlan suggested.  
“Great idea,” Landon told his brother.  
“So if I'm understanding you right, the BAU is part of the federal government and helps catch criminals,” Grey said.   
“That's a very simplified explanation, but mostly accurate,” Landon admitted. “It isn't really that simple, but Uncle Dave's books will help you understand all about profiling and how difficult it really is.”  
“Who is this Uncle Dave you keep mentioning?” asked Grey with a raised eyebrow.   
“You never met him, but he was part of the original BAU team when it was first formed,” Lochlan explained. “His name is David Rossi and he retired for a lot of years until he came back when one of the members left. In the years that he was retired he made his living by writing books about profiling and he has quite a few out. Even when he come back about fifteen years ago he's written at least another dozen in his free time. Uncle Dave's books will help you understand all about profiling, although it will take you awhile to get through them all since he probably has about 30 or more books out.”  
“Well it's a good thing I'm a Ravenclaw,” Grey said with a smile. “Us Ravenclaws like to read or at least most of us do.”  
“Actually Uncle Dave retired a couple years ago, so he has time to write full time now,” Landon said.   
“Why did he do that?” asked Lily in surprise.   
“He didn't want to,” Landon told her, “but the muggle government has an age where you're forced into retirement whether you are ready or not and that's 65, which is fairly old for a muggle.”  
“Uncle Aaron wasn't too happy about Uncle Dave being forced into retirement, since he was a really good and experienced profiler and it took him awhile to find somebody even halfway decent after that so that the team wasn't shorthanded.”  
“Actually the new team member is working out fairly well from what I know,” Lochlan said. “The whole team does miss Uncle Dave though they stay in contact outside of the job. Sometimes Uncle Dave even helps with the profiling behind the scenes, just like dad does.”   
“What's this about your father helping with the profiling?” asked Lily in surprise.  
“Oh sorry haven't Lochlan and I the ever mentioned, that our father is a consultant for the BAU team? He never officially joined the unit because he and Uncle Aaron couldn't openly have a relationship that they do as the government has a no fraternization rules, especially for people on the same team. At first he didn't want to join because of Lochlan and me as it can be a very dangerous job and he didn't want to possibly be killed while we were still so young. He's not very athletic anyway, which is really a requirement if you do go out in the field, so he's a consultant which means that he helps the team behind the scene so to speak and never goes out in the field where he could possibly be hurt.”  
“Dad has helped the BAU team solve more than one complicated case over the years as he has an eidetic memory, which means that once he learns something he never forgets it. Unlike most of the human race he doesn't have the advantage of painful memories fading over time,” Lochlan said.  
“He also has an IQ of 187, can read 20,000 words a minute and is something of a genius,” Landon added. “He has more information stored in his memory then any 500 people and all that obscure trivia that he knows has helped solve more than one case.”  
“Which might also explain why you two turned out to be so intelligent,” Grey suggested with a smile, “if your father is really that smart.”  
“Oh he is,” Landon assured Grey with a smile of his own.  
“Do either of you have your father's of eidetic memory?” Art asked curiously the both twins shook their heads negatively.  
“No,” Landon answered after shaking his head. “I'm not really surprised that neither one of us got it though for that particular trait is pretty rare and only 3% of the human race has such memories. Besides I'd really prefer not to have his kind of memory.”  
“Whyever not?” asked Grey in surprise.   
“Think about it and I'm sure the answer will occur to you,” Landon told his boyfriend.   
Grey thought abut for a few minutes, but finally Landon decided to help him out.  
“We would be able to remember every happy memory true, but would also be able to remember all the bad ones with perfect clarity, like when one of our friends died for example. A lot of people with that kind of memory never get married and if they do they get divorced sooner or later, especially if something bad happens like the death of a child for example.”  
“And how has your father managed to maintain his relationship with your uncle?” asked Lily curiously.   
“Well he told us once that he's learned how to compartmentalize. All of us do that to some extent, especially those with jobs like Uncle Aaron's because if he couldn't put his memories in like a box in his mind and disassociate it from the rest he would never be able to do the job that he does because of the horrors he sees every day,” Lochlan explained. “This way he doesn't constantly think about those memories as they're kind of not associated with all the other memories he has. Because he's able to do this it allows him to do the job that he does and still stay the same man we have always known instead of all those horrible memories he has changing him.”  
“So he kind of puts those memories from his job on the back burner,” Grey suggested.   
“Something like that yes, except that it is a sealed box that new horrible memories can be added to. If he or any of the rest of the team had those horrible memories from their job they do in the forefront of their minds all the time and if they constantly couldn't stop thinking about them it would change them for the worst.”  
“Trust us the human race can be extremely sadistic and sick, just think about what Voldemort tried to do and you'll get some idea of what I'm talking about.” Lochlan added. “Some of the stuff that we've picked up from dad, Uncle Aaron or the rest of the team would be enough to make you constantly sick, well either that or drive anybody insane, especially if you are constantly exposed to such horrors day in and day out. Compartmentalizing is the only way that dad, Uncle Aaron and the rest of the team can do the job they do and not turn bitter or hateful or angry or disgusted all the time, especially if it involves children.”  
The rest of the compartment absorbed that and Lochlan and Landon figured that they had given their friends enough to think about for awhile and so changed the subject to Quidditch for the rest of the ride to King's Cross Station.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Thank you, for letting me stay with you until I graduate from Hogwarts,” Grey told Hotch and Spencer.   
It was several days later and they had just gotten to the house in Quantico Virginia as for the last few days they had been spending it at Potter manor, while Hotch and Spencer had been busy. Harry Potter had picked up his children, the twins, and Grey at the train station and he had greeted all of them with warm hugs including him, whom he didn't hardly know at all except as his son's and daughter's friend, even if he was the defense against the dark arts teacher. Harry had Grey in class of course, but had never really had the time to get to know him that well even though he knew that Art and Lily were best friends with him along with Lochlan, Landon and Michelle. Harry had been very polite and had told him very sincerely that he hoped to get to know him better then he'd had time to do before. What had gone unsaid was that he was sorry for what he had gone through, but glad he had been able to help. Grey was just glad that Harry hadn't said what he knew he had been thinking out loud as he didn't really like to think about his past and who would be able to blame him for if they only knew what he had gone through...  
It was now a week before Christmas and the twins seemed glad to be home and Grey was just glad to be away from his parents for good.  
“You're more than welcome,” Hotch told him with a sincere smile that Grey could tell was real and not just the fake kind that some people plastered on when they thought that you were just going to be a bother and had only taken you in because they had to. When he had met the twins parents several years ago he had been genuinely surprised that they were so nice and accommodating instead of like his own parents. The twins and Jack were never neglected like his own parents had done to him and since Spencer was mostly a stay at home dad he had taken all four children on outings while they had been there for the summer.  
Grey had had more fun with the twins and their brother Jack when he was staying with them than he ever had at home or at Hogwarts. Uncle Aaron hadn't been around much during his stays as he seemed always to be gone on cases. Grey had asked what he should call the three adults in the house since he would be staying here more than a couple of weeks and he had been told to address them by uncle and in Sara's case just her first name.  
Grey had been secretly thrilled, for he knew that the twins called Aaron uncle and only reason they didn't do the same for Spencer so was because he was their father and so dad was more appropriate, but to be given the same privilege made Grey happy and made him really feel like part of the family.  
“Why don't you take your trunk up to Landon's room,” Spencer suggested with a smile. Grey stared at the two adults in surprise and they both laughed at his expression because he looked like he had been smacked over the head with a hammer.  
“You going to let me sleep with Lan?” asked Grey. “I thought for sure I'd be staying in the guestroom.”  
“Spencer and I agreed that you could stay and Landon's room so long as you followed a few ground rules,” Hotch began quite seriously. “First we don't mind if you two sleep together and cuddle all night, but there will be no sex until you are at least 17. Spencer and I had to compromise on that because you aren't really of age until 18 in the muggle world.”  
Grey nodded grateful that Lan's parents were willing to make such a concession when he had expected to have to sleep in the guestroom until after they'd graduated. The thought of cuddling up to Lan all night was something he was seriously looking forward to, although it would make going back to Hogwarts and sleeping in separate beds again much harder, but then again they shared the same dorm and had shared the same bed after he'd had a particularly violent nightmare, which they could do again if necessary or even if it wasn't.  
“Second we don't mind if you make out a little, kissing that kind of thing, but you are to leave the door open so that we can check on you at any time. Third you are never to go off alone by yourselves and must have at least one other person with you whether that is Lochlan, Spencer, Sara, Jack or me.”  
“Make sure you never break our trust in you because if you do you will have a very hard time earning it back,” Spencer added and then looked at Grey as well as Landon seriously.  
“We won't,” Grey assured them after looking at Landon who nodded. “I'm grateful to you for taking me in that I would never want to break your trust in me.”  
“Good, then we are in agreement,” Hotch said with another smile. “Now why don't you go drag your trunk up to Landon's room and then come back downstairs since it is almost time for dinner. Oh by the way one other thing before you go,” he added as both Landon and Grey turned back to listen to what Hotch had to say. “You're not to mention these arrangements to anyone outside this family, is that understood? Spencer and I could be in a lot of trouble if it was discovered we allowed you to have sex after you turn 17 since 18 is the legal age for that.”  
“Yes, Uncle Aaron,” both boys responded.  
Hotch nodded and allowed the boys to drag their trunks upstairs.  
“I hope we're doing the right thing,” Hotch told Spencer as soon as the boys had disappeared from sight and he was sure they were out of hearing range.   
“We are,” Spencer assured him. “Grey needs the comfort that Landon can provide right now after what happened with his parents being so nasty and disowning him. How anyone can do that to their own child…”   
“In Grey's case it's a good thing,” Hotch told Spencer. “We may never know all that happened to him, but we both know what that kind of abuse can do to you mentally and emotionally.”  
Spencer nodded in agreement and then the two men headed for the den to sit down and cuddle together until dinner was ready.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Wow! I never imagined that your father and uncle would actually allow us to share a room,” Grey said as soon as both boys had dragged their trunks into Landon's room.  
“They're usually very accommodating,” Landon admitted, “although this is a little surprising even for them, but then again they both know what its like to be abused when you're a child so that's probably why.”  
“Yes, Aaron and I know what it's like to be abused as children,” Spencer said suddenly appearing in the doorway. Both Landon and Grey looked startled, then embarrassed, but Spencer continued ignoring how both boys had jumped five feet, although inwardly he was laughing. “You've probably had nightmares on most nights ever since you parents came to the school a couple of weeks ago.”   
Both Landon and Grey nodded, for Grey had woken more then once in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after having a horrific nightmare. After that he crawled into bed with Landon, who didn't mind and being able to cuddle together seemed to help him sleep peacefully.  
Spencer saw the nod and continued without pause, although inwardly he wasn't surprised that Grey had been having nightmares.  
“When you do it's good to have somebody with you that can help you deal with them. Sometimes just cuddling next to somebody and knowing that they love and care about you is enough to keep the nightmares at bay, just don't be surprised if you wake up in a cold sweat some nights, because eventually your mind is going to force you to deal with those horrid memories even if it's through nightmares and even if you're not ready.”  
“Believe me, I know,” Grey said soberly, but so quietly neither other person in the room were sure they had heard him as he remembered all those horrid dreams he'd had while at school, especially right after his parents visit.  
“You sound like you're talking from experience,” Landon noted never having known this about his father before and he was sure Lochlan didn't either.   
“I am,” Spencer told his son looking him directly in the eye. “I still have the occasional nightmare, although mine aren't all that bad because all my father did was neglect me, he never actually beat me and I've had years to come to terms with it, but when I first stated having them they were much worse. You'll find that the human mind has its own way of dealing with horrible memories or even just the mildly bad ones and forcing you to deal with them usually long before you're ready to do so. Actually my nightmares didn't really begin to die down to where I hardly have them anymore until after I met your uncle and we got together. Aaron helped me through them just by holding me and comforting me, when I woke up covered in sweat, which is why we both agreed to let you two share a bed.”  
Grey nodded knowing exactly what Uncle Spencer was talking about for he'd had a lot of nightmares over the years. Of course when he did he had learned to have them quietly and not disturb his parents rest. It was true he had been mostly neglected, yelled and screamed at for no reason at all or for anything he had done, but occasionally he had been beaten if his father had been in a particularly foul mood. In that case he'd just happened to be a convenient target and it really didn't have anything to do with him at all. He didn't have nightmares every night and he also had never had them at Hogwarts probably because he knew he was away from his parents and they couldn't do anything to him with so many other people around.  
“I've had nightmares too on and off for years,” Grey finally admitted looking down embarrassed.   
“There's no reason to be embarrassed to admit that you were abused,” Spencer told Grey giving him a comforting hug knowing exactly how he felt. “Sure neglect might not seem as bad as physical abuse but that doesn't mean it isn't for the people who experience it. Just like physical abuse in its own way mental and emotional abuse leaves it's own scars even if those are all on the inside, instead of outside where they're visible. In its own way neglect is much worse then physical abuse,” Spencer said.   
“What do you mean?” asked Landon although Grey knew exactly what Uncle Spencer meant.  
“Well for example neglect can mean being denied food and that's important for very young kids because their bodies won't develop properly if they don't have adequate nutrition. Your organs can also be compromised without the proper nutrients especially when your body is still developing, which means that your normal lifespan is shortened from what it should be because your organs fail much earlier then they should. Also your height can be affected and that's mainly because you weren't fed adequately so that your bones and body structure developed like it should and it can also affect your brain's development as well. In other words neglect is basically the lack of any parental care, love, adequate food or any other basic needs that all children deserve. Parents are supposed to provide for their children, shelter, food, clothes, love, medical care, supervision and emotional nurturing. Neglect is often hard to pin down because in some cases some of these options are not available, especially to the very poor, so it isn't considered neglect. In it's own way neglect is just as harmful as physical abuse.”  
“Anybody ever tell you that you sound like a whole shelf of walking encyclopedias?” Grey asked with a grin changing the subject and Spencer laughed glad that Grey felt like he could joke with the adult figures in his life a little because that was a very good sign.  
“I've been told that more than once,” Spencer admitted with a grin and a shrug. “In any case dinner's ready so we should head on down before Sara comes up and believe me you don't want that.”  
Landon laughed knowing this was very true and the three of them headed downstairs for dinner.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So what does your family do for Christmas?” Grey asked Landon and Lochlan as the three of them just walked around the neighborhood.  
“Christmas is brilliant,” Landon said enthusiastically and Lochlan nodded excitedly in agreement.  
“One thing we do every year is have dinner at Uncle Dave's place and not just us, but every member of the team and their families,” Landon begin to explain. “I will admit though that it doesn't happen on Christmas every year as sometimes it happens early in the month just because everybody's so busy with their jobs.”  
“So your parents often work on Christmas?” asked Grey looking astonished.  
“I'm afraid that is one of the downsides of working for the FBI, as crime never really takes a holiday, mate,” Lochlan told his friend. “Most of the time even if the team isn't actually working they are at least on call, which means even if they get to spend Christmas with their families they can be called in if there is an urgent case and it also means that they can't go on holiday they have to stay around the Virginia area.”  
“Every couple of years though they get the time off where they aren't on call, and the second team that works the nightshift is and when that happens we usually go on some holiday somewhere.”  
“Yeah we took a couple of really great vacations before we started at Hogwarts, didn't we?” asked Landon smiling as he remembered.  
“So are you saying that your uncle is on call this Christmas and so we aren't going on holiday?” asked Grey.   
“Yes,” Landon confirmed, “but next year he should be off and maybe we'll go somewhere in the summer or at Christmas.”  
“So what else do you do for the holiday?” asked Grey.   
“Well, we do our shopping separately so that nobody knows what we're getting for each other,” Lochlan said.  
“But only if we haven't already bought our presents in Hogsmeade or elsewhere.”  
Grey's face fell and Lochlan and Landon knew why. “Don't worry, mate,” Lochlan told him with a smile. “You'll get the same amount of money as the two of us when we go shopping at Christmas and also when we go to Hogsmeade.”  
“Dad and Uncle Aaron think of you as another son now you know and they would never not treat you the same as us or Jack,” Landon added.  
“Are you sure about that?” asked Grey looking uncertain.   
“Yes, we are,” Landon assured his boyfriend as he gave Grey's hand a squeeze. “Our parents never would've taken you in at all if they didn't love and care about you and think of you as another son. Probably the only reason they haven't decided to adopt you is because then we would never be able to have a relationship since we would be technically siblings.”  
“The only reason they probably didn't tell you was because they thought you would understand that was their intention when they took you in,” Lochlan said.  
“Why would your parents do this for me?” asked Grey trying to understand. “My own parents certainly didn't care about me like yours seem to and yet they barely even know me.”  
“Well, part of it certainly is that you're our friend,” Lochlan told Grey, “and there's no way that they would have let any friend of ours just go to an orphanage even if he wouldn't be there for more than a few months before he was of age. As for the rest of it, you'll find that both our dad and uncle are very caring and compassionate individuals and they care about people. Uncle Aaron could never do the job he does if he didn't genuinely care about people as individuals, well either that or he would be hard, cold and uncaring because there's no way that the horrors he sees on an almost daily basis isn't going to affect him in some way.”  
“Dad and Uncle Aaron care more about you then those people they help through their job, even if dad is only a consultant, simply because they know you personally and you aren't just a faceless victim that has been hurt because of all the cruelty in the world,” Landon added.  
Grey absorbed that and decided that it did make sense and besides the twins parents had always treated him like a son from the first moment they had met and so he knew deep down that it was true.  
“So what else do we do for Christmas?” asked Grey after a few minutes of thoughtful silence and the twins took turns telling him exactly what else they did, so that the subject they had been discussing forgotten for the moment.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Grey seems to be doing better,” Hotch mentioned as he and Spencer cuddled in bed.  
It was near the end of the Christmas holidays and the kids would be going back to school in just a couple of days. Both Spencer and Hotch had already been into Landon's room several times over the last couple of weeks to comfort him when Grey had woken from a nightmare bathed in sweat. Sleeping with Landon seemed to be helping the other boy not have as many nightmares, although neither man was surprised that Grey had still had a few. In fact neither would be surprised if Grey had nightmares on and off for the rest of his life just as Spencer did. Landon had been there the whole time and held Grey close to him whenever he woke due to a nightmare, kissing him on the cheek or the lips or rubbing his back soothingly.  
It was plain to see for both Hotch and Spencer that the two boys really loved each other and were really close. All three men had sat with Grey until he had stopped shaking on those nights and also comforted him, although Hotch and Spencer left most of that up to Landon, except for giving the shaking boy hugs and kisses on the forehead like they did their own sons, who was more than up to the task. It had taken several hours to go back to sleep after one of those nightmares and nobody could really blame Grey for that since they all knew how horrific they must be.  
“Yes, he does, and that's mainly due to Landon I believe,” Spencer said. “I'm not saying that neither one of us hasn't played a part in how well he's doing it's just that Landon is the major reason that he's doing so much better than he was when he first came here.”  
“You're right,” Hotch admitted. “It's obvious that those two are very deeply in love and care about each other, well, as much as we do. In fact it wouldn't surprise me and probably not you either if those two decide to get married after they graduate from Hogwarts.”  
“I'm hoping Landon and Grey will decide to make his life in America and not in England just so I can see them both more often then I would otherwise,” Spencer admitted.   
“And what about Lochlan?” asked Hotch with a grin.   
“I'd be very happy if Lochlan did decided to move to America,” Spencer admitted, “but I have a feeling that he and Michelle are going to make their home somewhere in England so that Michelle can be close to her family.”  
“If that does happen I'm sure they'll come to visit often and we could of course go see them,” Hotch suggested.  
“I'm not looking forward to all those hours of traveling on a plane if we do go see them,” Spencer said making a face, “and I know you're not either. I'm afraid I've gotten spoiled with traveling by Portkey so often over the last few years.”  
“You'll do it though, if it means you get to see your first grandchild,” Hotch told him with confidence and Spencer had to admit that Aaron was spot on with that statement.  
Spencer laughed at that, which was answer enough for Hotch who knew his mate well. “You know me too well,” Spencer admitted as he gave the other man a tender kiss on the lips, which Hotch returned immediately and with equal tenderness. “I'm hoping that Lochlan and Michelle decide they want a big family with at least 4 or 5 children, although not all at once of course. Who knows they might even have twins since they do run in the family.”  
“It's too bad that Landon won't give us any grandchildren,” Hotch commented. “I don't fault him for loving Grey, but that means that we won't get any grandchildren from him which is kind of a disappointment.”  
“There is a way you know, although we would have to get them to agree to it,” Spencer said as he had been thinking of this question for the last couple years at least, well ever since he had suspected that Landon and Grey were going to get together as a couple anyway.   
“What way is that?” asked Hotch curiously.  
“Surrogacy,” Spencer said and watched Hotch's dark eyes light up in comprehension.  
“I didn't think of that,” Hotch admitted, “but you are obviously way ahead of me there.”   
“I've been thinking about it on and off ever since I began to suspect that Landon and Grey were going to get together romantically,” Spencer admitted. “There's even a way to do it so that the baby is not genetically related to whatever woman they choose to carry it.”  
“How's that?” asked Hotch in surprise not really knowing anymore then the basics to that particular subject, “I admit that IVF isn't exactly my area of specialty and I really don't know much about it at all other than the fact that it helps couples have children that can't for whatever reason, and not just same-sex couples either.”  
“Well, IVF is used with a donated egg and the intended father's sperm and then injected into the surrogate so that the child is nongenetically related to the woman carrying the baby. The only problem I see is them finding a woman that they trust to carry the baby or babies to term and then give it up afterwards. They could even have a whole family this way using the same woman or different ones. Monetary compensation is often offered to compensate the carrier of the child.”  
“So what you're saying is that Landon and Grey would need to find a woman that was willing to carry a child or children to term and then give them up afterwards,” Hotch summarized.  
“That's right,” Spencer said.   
“I'm also assuming that only one of those boys sperm would be used at a time,” Hotch questioned.  
“Correct,” Spencer said. “If say Landon wanted to use his sperm then you would get a baby that looked like him and the mother of course even if you never knew who the egg donor was. If they do decide to do that they'd have to be really careful and make sure none of the eggs that were going to be used would have any kind of diseases or things wrong with them because some diseases are genetically inherited.”  
“Egg banks do that for you don't they?” asked Hotch.   
“Yes,” Spencer admitted, “but that doesn't mean you don't need to be careful. Actually I've been wondering if the wizarding hospital right here in Virginia does something similar and it might be interesting to find that out. Besides I'm curious to see if the magical world here in America has something similar to the IVF process or not.”  
Hotch and Spencer certainly knew more about the wizarding world nowadays and they had six years ago and the two worlds were certainly an interesting contrast. They had discovered over the last few years that wizarding America was much more relaxed about muggles knowing about them and then wizarding England was, which was a relief.  
“Why?” asked Hotch curiously.   
“Because if they do they would all be women that have magic in their blood and that means that there is a greater chance that the child will have magic of their own like their parents instead of turning out to be a squib. I'm sure that Grey and Landon wouldn't care either way so long as they had a healthy child to raise, but if the wizarding hospital here does do something like that it might be the best option for them, especially since wizarding America seems not as uptight and more accepting about same-sex couples then England is. Besides maybe they have a way to make sure that the woman that is the surrogate has twins if that is what Landon and Grey want that is, while if they went with the muggle option there's only a fifty percent chance that both eggs would be fertilized or have magic. I nearly forgot to mention that the muggle option at least is very expensive, although it's not like they can't afford it or that we can't help them out I'm just saying that it's not exactly cheap.”  
“I did know that much,” Hotch admitted. “IVF isn't exactly a very old process and it does take a lot of work so I'm not really surprised that it's an expensive option, but if you're desperate for a child and you have the money then I would think it would be more than worth it.”  
“It would be and if I hadn't already had the twins I might have considered that as an option so that I could have a child of my own. I did think about it a few times while I was still in college, since I figured that no girl would ever fall in love with me since most of them tended to avoid me like the plague in both high school and college. To them I was just an upstart kid who they wouldn't give the time of day to.”  
“Well, I don't believe we need to mention this option to Landon and Grey at least until after they graduate and get married,” Hotch said.   
“No, we don't need to mention it right now,” Spencer admitted, “although we might want to do a little research on our own just so we have all the information for them when they do bring the subject up.”  
“So do you think that eventually they will want a child or possibly more?” asked Hotch somewhat wistfully as he had always wished that he had more than his son Jack. He loved the twins like they were his own and he loved his godson Gideon as he knew Spencer did Fabian and vice versa, but then he had always loved children and would have liked at least three with his own blood, although he had never told Spencer this, not wanting to make his lover feel guilty for not being able to provide a child of his own body and Hotch knew very well that the younger man would have indeed felt that way if he had mentioned that desire even though Spencer hadn't had anything to do with being born a man or of him falling in love with one.  
“Well, I know they're really too young to think about such things right now and I suspect that the idea won't occur to them at least until they're a few years older, but yes, I do believe that Landon at least will want a child or even several, although I'm not sure about Grey since I don't know him that well yet.”  
“Good,” Hotch said sounding happy, “since I'm kind of getting to the point in my life where I would really like some grandchildren even if if they won't technically be related to me.”  
“Like that matters,” Spencer snorted. “Whether they are related to you by blood or not they will still call you granddad or something along those lines just like they will me. People who believe that being related by blood is everything tend to be very prejudiced against families like ours where all the family members don't share the same blood and yet still consider each other that way.”  
“Like my mother,” Hotch suggested who hadn't thought about his mother in a long time as she had finally quit calling. “She's exactly like you were just describing. I know you've only met her once, but she was always telling Jack that he should never consider anybody family, except those related to him by blood like me, her, my brother Sean and so on.”  
“What brought that on?” asked Spencer curiously.   
“It was years ago back when we first got together, during Christmas, because you remember I always went to have dinner with my family until I got tired of all the sniping about you and them telling me that I was going to go to hell. That was when Jack told anybody that he thought of you and the team as aunts and uncles and that's what's set my mother off.”  
“Is that why you quit going because it will always sniping out you about my relationship with you?” asked Spencer quietly.   
“Partly,” Hotch admitted, “but I also didn't want Jack to grow up in that kind of environment even if he only saw most of them a few times a year. Besides Christmas is a time for family and yes, technically they are related to me, but I don't really consider them family except for Sean and Jack since none of the rest of them will ever accept that I'm in a permanent relationship with another man. I mean it's been what? Just over 10 years since we got married and 12 years since we got together and they still haven't accepted our relationship is real and permanent and if they haven't accepted it by now they never will.”  
“Kind of like my father,” Spencer said in sudden realization. “I don't consider him part of our family either, especially after he abandoned mom and me and he has never even tried seriously to make amends.”  
“Or like Harry considers the Dursleys,” Hotch added. “He doesn't consider them family either even though they are related to him all because of how they treated him as a child.”  
“That's one of the things that makes all three of us so close because we have all suffered child abuse of one sort or another,” Spencer said, “so we share common backgrounds in that respect.”  
“And so does Grey,” Hotch added.   
“Yes, so does, Grey,” Spencer repeated. “Sometimes I really wish that human race wasn't so messed up because there is a lot more abuse going home and then we ever catch. If we could catch more of the child abusers perhaps in time that would be less abuse going on at all.”   
“Maybe someday,” Hotch said, “although I'm sure it'll be long after we're dead and gone.”  
“Well, let's not worry about it right now and just concentrate on helping Grey at least mostly get over what happened to him, although I know he'll never forget it because I certainly never have, but then again I can't because of my eidetic memory.”  
“I don't have your memory, but I certainly remember what happened to me as a child and Sean too,” Hotch said, “even if most of those have faded over time, so you're right you really never forget, but you have to choose what path you want to follow. Do you want to be bitter and not make anything of your life, because of what happened to you or put your past behind you and actually do some good in the world.”  
“Well, we both know what path we chose to follow,” Spencer said starting to get sleepy, “now we have to help Grey make something of his life and make sure that he doesn't turn into a bitter, angry adult.”  
“I don't see that happening so long as he and Landon stay together,” Hotch said. “So long as Landon is there to support him and we and his friends are there in the background also supporting him I believe he'll turn out just fine.”  
“Well, let's just hope that Landon's and Grey's relationship is permanent then because you're right, so long as they are together Grey will be okay, but if they do break up it's possible he will turn into what we want to avoid.”  
“I don't think their relationship is going to be a problem at least from what I've observed,” Hotch said. “The two of them kind on remind me of you and I, except in the fact that they discovered each other much earlier than we did and are the same age.”  
“Yes, that's true,” Spencer said thoughtfully. “We can discuss this at a later date though because right now I'm so sleepy all I want to do is curl up against your side and conk out until morning.”  
“You're more than welcome to do that and I'm tired too so I'll be following you into dreamland,” Hotch said as he put his arm around the younger man pulling him close and Spencer gratefully curled up into his lover's side and put his head into it's usual position on Hotch's chest so that the sound of his mate's heartbeat could lure him to sleep just like it had for the last twelve years.   
It wasn't more then five minutes later that both men were sound asleep curled up in each other's arms.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Landon and Grey, age 17

“Did you ever think about us getting married as soon as we graduate?” asked Landon as he and Grey walked hand-in-hand around the lake. The two boys were bundled up against the cold of the Scottish winter with cloaks gloves and scarfs, blue and bronze, Ravenclaw colors wrapped around their necks.  
It was the beginning of November of the twins and Grey's final year at Hogwarts and Landon's and Lochlan's 18th birthday was only a couple of weeks away.  
Grey looked startled for he had never thought about it, although he knew he would love to be permanently tied to Lan for their love had only grown in the last two years and a half since they had started dating.  
“Can we do that? I didn't think that was legal,” said Grey.  
“It's not in either muggle or wizarding England, but in Virginia where I grew up it is. Didn't you know that dad and Uncle Aaron are actually married and have been for just over eleven years.”  
“Well yeah, but it never occurred to me that we could do the same, although I know it should have.”   
“Oh you would've thought of it eventually, but with classes and Quidditch and everything we have been a bit busy and most people our age don't usually think about such things anyway.”  
“And yet you thought of it,” Grey pointed out dryly.  
“Well, that's a little bit different, love,” Landon said.   
“How?” asked Grey with a raised eyebrow to show that he was skeptical.  
“Lochlan and I were raised in a house filled with love,” Landon explained gently his golden brown eyes that were exactly like his father's and brother's filled with love, “so really it's not that surprising that I'm the one that thought about us getting married after we graduate while you didn't because you weren't raised in that kind of environment. To me getting married would just be a confirmation of the bond that we already share.”  
“That is so beautiful,” Grey said with happy tears in his eyes. “Is that how you really feel about me?”  
“Absolutely,” Landon assured his lover and yes they were lovers now and had been ever since they had turned 17. They certainly didn't spend every night together, but they did spend as many as they could. He took Grey into his arms and held him close and the other boy accepted Landon's embrace with pleasure. “You should know me well enough by now to know that I never would have agreed to make love to you if I wasn't absolutely sure of my of feelings for I am not one of those people that has sex just for the sake of having sex. I have to really care about the person I'm going to be so intimate with. In that way at least I am like my father, for he never would have sex with anybody until they had been dating for at least a month, with my mother being the one exception, as he really had to care about that person in order to do it. In other words he didn't have sex much until he met my uncle because you know that most women aren't willing to put up with that kind old fashioned attitude. My father in that way is really old-fashioned and sex has never been just a casual thing for him and I am the exact same way, although my brother is the opposite, which probably comes from the mother we've never met.”  
“I love you,” Grey mumbled softly his voice passionate, and sincere and he and Landon shared a tender, soft kiss as if to confirm their feelings for each other.  
“I love you too,” Landon assured him as soon as the two had broken apart. “So what do you think about getting married once we graduate in a few months?”  
“It would be a dream come true for me,” Grey assured the man at his side taking Landon's hand in his own and started to run his thumb up and down the other man's palm.  
“Good,” Landon said pleased that Grey felt the same way he did. “I'll write my father and let him, Sara and Uncle Aaron start planning everything.”  
“Let's not rush into anything we need to make a few plans first,” Grey told Landon.   
“Yeah, we do,” Landon agreed after a moment of thought.  
“Where do you want to live for example after we get married?” Grey asked.   
“Well, why don't we live in America as for one thing the resident wizarding population over there isn't quite so backwards as here and much more modern. From what I have observed anyway they're not so much against same-sex relationships over there, although there will of course be some people who disapprove as you can't please everybody and you really shouldn't try. Before you object just think you'll be thousands of miles away from your parents who will have absolutely no idea where you've gone if they decide to try to get revenge on you.”  
“Yeah, that's true,” Grey agreed, “and we could always come back for visits.”   
“And we will,” Landon assured him. “I have a feeling that my brother is going to want to settle down in England because I'm sure Michelle will want to be close to her family, since they are nothing like yours. Really we can pop over for a visit with Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and their family not to mention my brother and I'm sure his future wife any time we want since we do have a Portkey.”  
“And we could always make several more for different destinations,” Grey said looking intrigued.   
“Well, we would have to get permission to do that from the Minister of Magic, since a Portkey is a regulated item, at least in England, but since Uncle Harry knows him personally I don't think that would be a problem,” Landon said.  
“It's nice to have friends or in this case family in high places,” Grey joked and Landon laughed by way of agreement.  
“There's probably something you should be aware of,” Landon told Grey after a few minutes of contented silence ignoring some of the looks they were receiving from some of the other students who were also walking by the lake.  
“What's that?” asked Grey and looked over at Landon and noticed he looked distinctly uncomfortable.  
“Well, my brother and I have never mentioned it, but him, me and Jack have had trust funds set up for us by my father,” Landon explained.  
Grey blinked at that, but he wasn't really surprised because he knew how wealthy Landon and Lochlan's father was just from his own observations, although he had never said anything to either of them.  
“Exactly how much are we talking about?” asked Grey, curiously.   
“Well since it was set up after my dad made his fortune before we were born it's around 25 million, each,” Landon said after looking around him cautiously to make sure that nobody was close enough to overhear.  
Grey blinked and appeared so shocked that he couldn't form any coherent words for several long seconds. “Blimey! Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say that you and Lochlan and Jack all have 25 million dollar trust funds?”   
“Yes, and keep your voice down since I don't want it to get out,” Landon said as calmly as possible. “Now you can see why neither Lochlan or I never mentioned it. Dad and Uncle Aaron warned us before we ever started at Hogwarts that we were not to mention the amount in our trust funds to anyone unless they were about to join the family that is, like you are. They told us that if anybody knew how much money we had even if we couldn't touch any of it until we were 21 that we would be put in the middle of a lot of schemes by a lot of unscrupulous people trying to bilk us out of it.”  
Grey blinked trying to figure out what bilk meant since it was an unfamiliar word, but then finally figured out it meant conned and Landon was right that unscrupulous witches and wizards would try to con at least some of that money for themselves, and Grey assumed that the muggles would do the same if they found out.  
“Why do you need to get a job at all if you have that much money?” asked Grey still looking absolutely flabbergasted.   
“Because dad raised us to still work, for what we want and the trust funds are there as back up, but not to live off of, although we could live off the interest alone quite well for many years to come. Dad and Uncle Aaron always taught us that people who work at jobs they love are less likely to be spoiled rotten brats, arrogant or to get in trouble with the law. A lot of bored aristocrats with a lot of money on their hands don't know the meaning of hard work and because of this they are raised like they are better then anyone else and to treat everyone around them that they consider lower then them like dirt, which is almost everybody. Even if their parents don't raise them that way a lot of times having so much money gives them a sense of entitlement that they don't work to earn and it doesn't help that their parents spoil them rotten from the time they are born. Well, just think of some of the Slytherins that have families that have fortunes and how they act and you'll know what I mean.”  
“Yes, I see what you mean,” Grey agreed finally as he thought about how some of the Slytherins strutted arrogantly around like they owned the school just because their parents were rich and powerful.  
“Actually none of our trust funds started out with $25 million in it,” Landon explained as soon as he saw that Grey had absorbed the news. “Dad started out by putting just 5 million into each account, then he hired a trust lawyer to look after them for him and to invest so that the amount increased. The lawyer he hired was recommended by somebody he knew and trusted and he is quite good at investing, following trends and so forth to increase the amount.”  
“So you're saying that your dad started out putting 5 million into each account and that the person he hired to oversee increased it to 25 million over what last 14 years?”   
“Well, except for Jack, since he and Uncle Aaron didn't officially join the family until we were six, though they were dating for two years before that, but for my brother and me, yes about that.”  
“So this trust lawyer is kind of like the goblins at Gringotts who look after a wealthy families money and invest it wisely so that it increases and that way there is always money for the family,” Grey realized.  
“Yes, it is almost exactly the same thing, except it had to do with children instead of a whole family,” Landon agreed.  
“Blimey! You three sure are lucky,” said Grey looking envious.   
“Yes, but what you don't realise is that once we get married my money is your money or at least it is once I turn 21 and get control of my trust.”  
Grey looked shocked at that. “You would do that for me?”  
“It will be like a joint account at a muggle bank or Gringotts. The kind that married couples have so they can both draw money out of the same account.”  
“Are we going to turn all our money into Galleons or leave it at the muggle bank?”  
“There's no reason to take it out of the muggle bank,” Landon said looking uncomfortable.  
“Okay...why?” asked Grey uncertainly seeing how uncomfortable Landon was and knowing he was about to be shocked for the second time in just a few minutes.  
“Because Uncle Harry opened two separate accounts in our names after our first year at Hogwarts and put about 10 million in each in them,” Landon said. “He didn't even bother to ask our parents for permission because that's not the way he is, especially when he believes he is doing the right thing and he believes in taking care of family, even distant relatives. You know that family is very important to Uncle Harry, especially after what happened with the Dursleys.”  
“Were your parents mad?” asked Grey a little apprehensively.   
“No,” Landon said shaking his head negatively, “as they understood why he had done it or at least Uncle Aaron did and stopped dad from blowing a gasket. Actually Uncle Aaron only suspected that Uncle Harry had opened accounts, as he had gotten to know him pretty well by that time and knew that family was the most important thing in Uncle's Harry's life and that meant making sure they were taken care of for the rest of their lives, but it wasn't actually confirmed until sometime later.”  
“So why did he do it without asking for your parents permission first?” asked Grey curiously.   
“Because he didn't want to be told that no he could not open accounts in our names because we didn't need the money and while that might have been true, he still probably would have argued with them about it so doing it his way avoided that argument.”  
“So if your Uncle Harry gave you 10 million apiece like almost seven years ago now that's bound to have increased if the goblins invested…” Grey said looking awed and stunned, which Landon could hardly blame him for.  
“It has,” Landon said calmly, “since the goblins are geniuses at investing your Galleons and making a profit as I know you are aware.”  
“How much?” asked Grey not sure if he wanted to know the answer. He knew his parents were well off, but not as well-off as his boyfriend, not even close.   
“Around 18,000,000 Galleons, apiece,” Landon answered. “Give or take a few thousand Galleons.”  
Grey whistled appreciatively. “Well I never knew I was dating someone so...”   
“Down to Earth?” Landon suggested with a wry grin interrupting Grey's train of thought, “considering I have so much money to my name? I'm still that same person you've known since we were 11 years old and just because I told you about the money now shouldn't change that.”  
“Well, yes,” Grey admitted. “You don't seem to care that you are ultrawealthy at all.”   
“That's because I don't,” Landon told Grey quite seriously, “and neither does my brother. Sure it's nice to have some financial security, but I don't plan on being one of those lazy aristocrats that think they're too good to work for a living just because they do have a ton of money. Our father raised us to know the value of a dollar or Galleon if you prefer and we were never spoiled except at times like Christmas and birthdays when a little spoiling is expected. That's the reason I and Loch always did our best in class so that we can get any job we want once we graduate as we don't intend to live off the money that two different people have given us. I'm not saying that the money won't be useful, just that we don't intend to use it all that often.”  
“You're one of the most easygoing, nice, rich people I've ever met, Lan,” Grey said his joking demeanor gone.   
“Thank you,” Landon said with a smile kissing Grey on the lips as a thank you for the compliment. “Look at it this way at least we won't be struggling if we come across some hard times, especially in today's economy. Besides you know my Uncle Harry and how nice and down to earth he is and how he doesn't make a big deal about having a lot of money, but if he was able to leave Loch and me 10,000,000 Galleons apiece just imagine how much he actually has in the bank. He never would've left my brother and me that much if it was going to put him in any financial difficulty as he has a family to support so I imagine 20,000,000 Galleons wasn't even a drop in the old proverbial bucket of his family's wealth.”  
“You're right,” Grey agreed as he knew Uncle Harry loved his family and would never have put them into a situation where they were wondering where their next meal was coming from. “From what I know of the Potters they were a very wealthy pureblood family, although how wealthy I don't know. Of course a lot of old pureblooded families are wealthy, although not all of them of course. The Malfoys, the Potters, the Longbottoms, the Blacks, the Notts, the Parkinsons, the Greengrasses... Well I'm sure you get the point. Being from a pureblooded family usually means being ultrawealthy, although not always. Some families in the past had money, but lost it due to bad investments or other reasons, the Zabinis for example.”  
“So me telling you about all this money I was giving isn't going to change our relationship, right?” asked Landon a little tentatively.   
“No,” Grey assured his boyfriend shaking his head negatively. “In fact you tell me reassures me about our relationship.”   
“Why?” asked Landon looking surprised.   
“Because I know you,” Grey explained confidently. “You never would've told me about the money if you believed for even a second that our relationship wasn't going to last. One thing I know about you and Loch both is that you're both very modest and down to Earth. Neither of you is the type to brag about things like money or you're skills with magic. Actually you're really not the kind to brag at all unlike some of the Slytherins and Gryffindors or even some of the other Ravenclaws. Sure you're intelligent, rich, excellent at most branches of magic, but you don't go strutting around bragging about your skills. Nobody would know from the way you act that you do have quite a bit of money, so in other words I know you never would've told me about how many Galleons and dollars you have to your name if you weren't serious about our relationship.”  
Landon looked thoughtful and then nodded in agreement for Grey was absolutely correct in everything he'd said. In fact he and Loch were a lot like their father in that respect as Spencer Reid didn't need to brag about his skills in order to get himself noticed and in fact he preferred just to fade into the background, although he could be confrontational if the situation required it. Come to think of it all three of them were a lot like their Uncle Harry at least in that respect, so maybe it was just a Potter trait, even if they didn't actually share the same last name.   
“You're right,” Landon finally admitted after a few minutes of silence. “I'm glad I convinced you that our relationship is permanent as far as I'm concerned. When it comes to love both Loch and me are a lot like our father. Sure we dated some, but they always ended within just a few weeks or at most a couple of months, because we always knew when we had found the right person to settle down with.”  
“I'm glad you chose me,” Grey said softly.   
“I would correct that and say we chose each other,” Landon said as he gave Grey kiss on the lips, which the other boy returned.  
The two stood there on the opposite side of the lake for awhile just enjoying being together out under the stars, although they both knew that they would have to go inside soon as it wasn't long until curfew.  
“You know, we were discussing getting married just a little while ago and yet you never officially asked me,” Grey commented after awhile.  
“No, I suppose I didn't,” Landon admitted with a sheepish look knowing exactly what Grey meant. “I was going to wait until after we had graduated in June, but since you mentioned it and I'm the one that brought it up in the first place I will go ahead and propose now,” Landon said getting down on one knee and taking the ring he had bought with his father's financial help out of his pocket. “Grey, the love I have for you grows the more I get to know you and I would be honored if you would accept this proposal and agree to marry me. We have known each other since we were 11 years old and been best friends ever since and I have loved you since the first moment we met even though I didn't realize it for a long time. The best kind of marriage is built off friendship, for if you're friends first your marriage is more likely to last then if you've only known each other for a month or two. If you agree to marry me I promise to spend every day making you as happy as you always deserve to be as we share our lives together through the good times and bad. I solemnly vow to love you forever and that my love for you will never lessen, but only grow the longer we are together, so marry me and make me the happiest man on the face of the Earth.”  
Grey stood there with tears in his eyes as he knew Landon meant every single word of his speech. How had he been so lucky as to find someone like Lan he didn't know, but he wasn't about to say no to his boyfriend's proposal considering if he did it would probably destroy him as he loved Lan with every particle of his soul and he knew with absolute soul shaking certainty that Landon felt the same.  
“Yes, I will marry you. I love you,” Grey said simply and as the words left his lips Landon opened up the box he had been holding and Grey saw a beautiful white gold band with emeralds and sapphires encrusted into the metal. It was perfect and just looked like a very nice, expensive ring without looking like an engagement ring or a wedding band.  
“What, no diamonds?” Grey joked a little shakily as he held out his hand and allowed Landon to slip the ring onto his finger. The minute the ring touched his finger it resized itself until it fit perfectly.  
“Diamonds are run-of-the-mill and trite in this day and age,” Landon told him quite seriously, with a smile that lit up not only his face, but his eyes as well, which meant that he truly was happy. “In fact in the muggle world it is practically the only stone that is ever used for engagement rings for women, although some people are more original and choose something else nowadays.”  
“It's perfect and I love it, almost as much as I love you,” Grey assured his lover kissing him quite seriously on the lips.   
“As much as I would like to continue this we had better head back inside as it's going to be curfew pretty soon,” Landon said looking a little wobbly on his feet from Grey's kiss, which made the other boy grin at the effect he had on his lover.  
“Yeah,” Grey agreed, “but don't expect to be sleeping alone as I am never going to allow you to do that again and the four-posters are more then big enough for two.”   
“That's fine with me, although we'll have to make sure that nobody else finds out, except for Lochlan and our other friends of course, because the teachers would definitely not approve of us sleeping together even if we are two young men who can't get each other pregnant and also of age.”  
“You're right,” Grey agreed knowing exactly what point Landon was making. “Let's get going and tell our friends about our engagement as I know they will be happy for us.”   
“They will be,” Landon agreed. “I'm sure it will also be part of the Hogwarts rumor mill by next week even if we don't mention it as someone is bound to notice the ring on your finger eventually.”  
“Let people talk,” Grey said not seeming to care. “We've been being talked about ever since we started dating, so I don't know why this would be any different. I'm not about to remove this ring and put it somewhere just to keep our engagement secret and save us a lot of nasty looks and teasing, since it won't work because we would still be made fun of just for being together as a couple.”  
“I totally agree, although some people need to get a life and leave us alone,” Landon said. “We had better head inside now as it's only about 15 minutes until curfew.”  
“Alright,” Grey agreed still looking extremely dazed and dreamy from Landon's proposal.  
The two continued to walk hand-in-hand heading back inside the castle and up to Ravenclaw tower arriving there just before curfew.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“You know we didn't have time last week to finish discussing what we want to do with our lives after we graduate,” said Landon.  
“Even if we'd had time last weekend I'm not sure I would have been able to take part of such a serious conversation, since I was kind of out of it after you proposed,” Grey admitted with a grin as the two of them sat together in the common room wrapped in each other's arms as well as a Muffliato spell, that they had both learned from Uncle Harry. What the Muffliato spell did was make sure their conversation was private and that nobody outside the spell would be able to to hear their exact words.  
“Yes, I know exactly what you mean,” Landon said with a grin so wide that he felt as if his face was actually going to split in two. Of course he had been feeling euphoric ever since Grey had accepted his proposal and people had noticed. “Now that we've both come down to Earth though there are some things we do need to discuss.”  
“I know,” Grey agreed happier then he had ever been in his life.  
“First what kind of wedding do you want a where do you want the have it?” Landon asked.  
“I don't think either one of us need a humongous wedding,” Grey said and Landon nodded in agreement. “Something small and simple with just the people that are closest to us is fine with me, although we could have a reception afterwards we don't necessarily have to.”  
“Yeah I agree there shouldn't be more than 50 people, tops and probably not that many,” Landon said.  
“Also we need to start looking for a place to live before we even consider tying the knot,” Grey said.  
“We can do that as soon as we graduate,” Landon agreed. “Thanks to Uncle Harry and the Minister of Magic you have a passport, visa and all the appropriate paperwork and once we get married you'll have dual legal status in both England and America and so will I so that means we could live either place.”  
“I don't see why we couldn't have houses in both countries and spend a lot of time in both,” said Grey with a nonchalant shrug. “It's not like you don't have the money.”  
“Great idea, love,” Landon agreed. “That way when Loch and Michelle finally decide to start a family we won't put them out by staying with them and still get to visit as often as we like.”  
“Or have to listen to a crying baby in the middle the night,” Grey suggested with a grin.   
“Oh I would've put a silencing spell on our room,” Landon said returning the grin, “but this way we're not in the way at an inopportune moment.”  
“So now that we got that settled, have you decided on a career?” asked Grey.   
“Not really,” Landon admitted. “Both dad and Uncle Aaron want me and Lochlan to go to college and I still haven't decided if I'm going to do that since it would require even more studying. You could do the same you know as they do have universities in the wizarding world or you could go to a muggle college.”  
“I've had enough studying,” Grey said with a shake of his head and Landon agreed with a nod. “Besides I don't know enough about the muggle world in order to be able to go to one of their colleges.”  
“Why not? You're a half-blood so you should have had at least a decent amount of exposure to the muggle world.”   
“You know what my parents were like Lan,” Grey said.  
“I do,” Landon said with a nod, “so you wouldn't have had much exposure to the muggle world like most half-bloods simply because your parents were so evil.” Landon said the last word with a very realistic shudder.   
Grey laughed a deep, rich sound that sent a shiver of desire down Landon's spine. “I never thought of them that way, but you're right they are evil. I'm sure from all we know about Voldemort he would've loved to have them on his side since they were just as evil as he was. Oh they've never killed anybody as far as I know, unlike Voldemort, they are just cold-hearted, intolerant, callous, harsh, cruel, narrow-minded bigots. They had their own narrow view of the world and wouldn't turn from that path for anything. In a way they were just as bad as Voldemort for he shared a lot of the same traits even if they never actually killed anyone.”  
“Evil is still evil,” Landon said wisely, sounding like he was 30 or 40 instead of 17. “There are a lot of different levels of evil in the world even if most of them aren't as bad as what Voldemort did to so many wizards, witches and muggles alike.”  
“Well, I'm just glad to be out of that house and also extremely happy I never have to go back so let's just change the subject, shall we?” Grey suggested and Landon nodded in agreement.  
“Alright,” Landon agreed. “I was actually thinking about becoming spell crafter since I'm so good at creating new spells.”  
“That would probably be a good career for you,” Grey agreed.   
“Well, you're just as good at creating new spells as I am and if we did do that we could become partners in the business sense of course,” said Landon.  
“So if we do decide to live in America what kind of career options are there over there?”   
“Oh the same ones you have here in England,” Landon said. “You could join the Aurors, you could be a healer, you could open up your own shop, or be a teacher. There are literally thousands of options to choose from. The only major school over there though is Salem Academy so being a teacher might not be an option, but everything else is.”  
The two continued discussing options, although no final decisions were made that night and after awhile the two headed upstairs to bed and not to sleep or at least not right then.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Have you ever thought about having children?” asked Landon as he and Grey took there now normal walk around the lake just to relax a little from doing homework.  
It had now been several months since Landon had proposed to Grey and was now the middle of March and school got out in just a few months time.  
“Well, yes, I always thought I'd like to have children if I got married to some female, but with us being together the only way we can have children that I know of is to adopt not that I object to that mind you,” Grey said looking a little confused at the question.  
“I know you're wondering why I asked the question,” Landon said as he looked over at Grey's confused expression, “but I do have a reason I promise you.”  
“Well, what's the reason then because since we are two males in a relationship we can't have children,” Grey said. “I wouldn't change our relationship for anything, but I would've liked to have had a lot of children running around eventually.”  
“And you can,” Landon informed Grey with a smirk.   
“How?” asked Grey in surprise with a raised eyebrow.  
“It's true that as two males in a relationship we can't have children naturally, but they're muggle alternatives.”  
“So you're saying that the muggles have come up with a way for two men to have a child or even several?” asked Grey looking so flabbergasted that it caused Landon to burst into laughter.  
“Yes, they do,” Landon said once he had quit laughing at Grey's flabbergasted expression. “They have what is known as IVF or in vitro fertilization, which means in glass. The first successful test tube baby as they are known was done in 1978 and her name was Louise Brown. What this is, is a very expensive process where an egg is taken from a female and then your sperm is also taken.”  
Landon went on to explain the whole process to Grey and the other boy appeared fascinated, which Landon could hardly blame him for.  
“So you're saying that this in vitro fertilization is done with a female egg and a male's sperm and then implanted it into a female uterus,” Grey said.  
“Well the egg and sperm have to spend a few days in a petri dish first, but essentially correct,” said Landon. “They even have such things as egg and sperm banks where the men and women donate to so that childless couples can have children of their own, although sometimes this is done anonymously.”  
“How in the world do muggles get the eggs from women?” asked Grey. “It's not as easy as it is for men as all we have to do is pee in a cup.”  
“Well, it's pretty difficult process and requires surgery,” Landon explained. “The woman has to be ovulating, which means she has to be having her menstrual cycle, since this is the time to where she's producing eggs. The surgeon has to cut into her stomach and extract the eggs and then sew her back up.”  
“Sounds painful,” Grey said with a grimace.   
“I'm sure it is, but a lot of women decide to do it anyway just to give other couples a chance to have children of their own,” Landon said. “So now that I told you all about the IVF process do you think you might want children? A few years down the road of course once we have ourselves established in America.”  
“And have a few years by ourselves so that we can have some major you and me time!” Grey added with a grin making Landon laugh.  
“Yes, that's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to finishing school so that we can spend all our time together without any interruptions like classes and homework and tests,” said Landon.  
“It won't be much longer before we can do that since the end of the school year is only about three months away,” Grey said as he leaned over to kiss his fiancé's cheek.  
“I can hardly wait,” Landon said fervently, “until we can start our own lives away from school.”  
“Neither can I,” Grey told his lover. “We've had hardly any just you and me time except the little bit we sneak here and there.”  
“Well, you can't really expect much privacy in a school,” Landon said philosophically. “The teachers are responsible for us after all, so they can't allow stuff like having sex to go on, although I don't think they ever considered same-sex couples before, which really isn't surprising considering that Hogwarts is over a thousand years old. At least neither of us can get the other pregnant.”  
“Well, it's just a good thing that not one of us is female,” Grey said with a grin. “If we were there would be no way we could spend the night in the same bed, have sex and not risk getting pregnant.”   
“I believe there are such things as contraceptive potions and even spells designed to prevent pregnancy,” said Landon.  
“How do you know that?” asked Grey in amazed surprise.   
“Well, really it's kind of logical that the magical world would have such things since there is no controlling teenage hormones after all,” Landon replied. “Besides I read about it somewhere in the library, although I can't remember in exactly what book at the moment. So now that you know we can have children would you like say half a dozen or more someday?”  
“Yes,” Grey answered immediately. “Our only problem is going to be to find a female that would be willing to carry a baby or even several for us and then give it up afterwards since the only female we are close to is Michelle and I can't see your brother allowing her to do that even if she was willing since they are engaged to be married just like we are.”   
“You forgot Lily, but since she's dating someone seriously that's not a viable option either, so yes, that's probably going to be a problem,” Landon admitted. “Hopefully by the time we decide that we're ready for children we'll know some of other females and be close to them, but we'll just have to wait and see. We might just have to choose an anonymous female somebody we don't know very well or at all and there are agencies, at least in the States that provide a surrogate for you.”  
“Why would muggles have a agencies that does that?” asked Grey in surprise.   
“Well, there are a lot of reasons,” Landon admitted. “Some females can't have children for one reason or another whether it's because of their age or for medical reason like severe heart disease. A pregnancy would of course put a strain on their heart so sometimes using a surrogate is just a safer if expensive option. Some people use relatives as surrogates, although that's also considered incest in certain circles. In any case some women are part of an agency that uses them for a surrogate and the fetus is implanted into her uterus. The surrogates of course get paid for this service and we can go that route if we need too.”  
“Well, you learn something new everyday,” said Grey looking amazed, “and that would be a yes to your earlier question about us eventually having children. I would love to have as many as Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny someday and if we request twins then a women would only have to be pregnant four times instead of eight.”  
“I would like at least one set of twins, when we do decide we are ready to have children,” Landon said. “By the way I doubt we would get the same surrogate every time so it wouldn't matter if we did decide on one baby or two.”  
“That's for the future though and right now all I want too do is snog you senseless, do you think you can handle that?” asked Grey with a smirk.  
Landon looked surprised for a moment and then a smirk to match Grey's came onto his face too. “I believe so yes.”  
And with Landon's words Grey immediately attacked him and it was only a few seconds later that they were both laying in the grass underneath a shady tree snogging each other senseless.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“It is so good to be home,” Lochlan sighed as he, Landon and Grey entered the house where the twins had grown-up. “Finally our last year at Hogwarts is over and all we have to do is wait for our N.E.W.T. results.”  
“Which should be here in about a month, according to Uncle Harry,” said Grey. Grey had been happy when Harry had told him to call him the same thing that the twins did. He had said that Grey was going to be family once he married Landon so it was only right. What made Grey really happy was that Harry hadn't seemed to care that he and Lan were both men and had supported both of them from the first just like Landon's dad and uncle. It was so nice to have people that truly loved you and supported you no matter what, unlike his own parents, which if he ever saw again it would be too soon.  
“Welcome home,” Sara said as she came into the living room from the kitchen and hugging each of them. “I just finished baking some brownies as I knew you lot would be hungry when you got home.”  
“Yay!” all three young men cheered.  
“You're the best, Sara,” Lochlan added as he stayed long enough to kiss her cheek in thanks.  
“Flatterer,” Sara called to Lochlan's retreating back as he followed his brother and friend.  
Once they were gone Sara's expression changed to sad, for she knew that all her boys were now grown and she included Grey in that as she had known him ever since he had started spending part of the summers here when he was 13 and she had kind of adopted him. Jack was away at college and it wouldn't be long before Landon and Grey got married and also Lochlan and Michelle. At least Landon and Grey had finally decided to move to the States, although it was still undecided where they were moving to so she would probably get to see them occasionally, but not Lochlan and Michelle since they had decided to live in England.  
Sara came into the kitchen and Landon asked as soon as he saw her, “So where are dad and Uncle Aaron?”  
“I'm sorry boys but your uncle was called away on a case and your father decided to go with him just so they could spend some time together. He knew you were coming home today, but he thought he'd be home in a few days. He knew that you lot were perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves and that you were all of age now,” Sara explained. “Your father realizes that you all have your own lives now, although they both hope that you'll come and visit often along with Michelle of course.”  
“Of course we'll come to visit!” Lochlan exclaimed. “We love them and expect them to be there when their first grandchild is born and you too.”  
“Just because we'll have our own lives doesn't mean that our family isn't important to us, because it is,” Landon added, “so expect us to visit often, although we'll always make sure to call first to make sure Uncle Aaron and dad are here.”  
“So what will you do now that you don't have any children to look after?” asked Grey curiously. “Will you retire?”   
“Oh no,” Sara protested. “I'll stay here and look after Spencer and Aaron as they need somebody to cook and clean for them, especially since Aaron at least is hardly ever here.”  
“Yeah, dad would never force you to retire,” Lochlan said. “You are part of the family and have been since we were six months old.”  
“You should be able to slow down at least, now that all of us are grown,” Landon said. “You don't even have Jack to look after anymore.”  
“That's not quite true is Jack will be home in the summers from college,” Sara said.  
“True, but you taught all of us good housekeeping skills and how to wash our own clothes and things that we needed to know for when we were out our own so I very much doubt that Jack will need your help much.”  
“Except perhaps to cook for him since he has no talent for it.”  
Everybody laughed at that for they had all seen what a poor cook Jack was even though Sara had tried her best to teach all of them so that they didn't have to eat out all the time when they were out of their own before they got married.  
“So when do you think dad and Uncle Aaron will be home?” asked Landon. “We need to finish making wedding plans.”   
“I'm not really sure,” Sara admitted. “I haven't heard from either of them since yesterday and they were still deeply involved in trying to catch their current criminal, but it will more than likely be at least a week or so. Besides you don't have to worry as I've got the wedding plans under control. I kept it simple like you two wanted and there will only be about 30 guests. All you really need to do is find whatever wizarding official is authorized to marry a couple and buy suits.”  
“Is marriage between two men even legal in the American wizarding world?” asked Grey curiously.  
“Oh didn't I tell you?” Landon said. “My father and Uncle Aaron checked that out for us and yes it is legal at least here in America.”  
“How did they do that?” asked Grey in surprise. “Since neither one of them has magic? How did they even find the wizarding section of the city?”  
“Both of them wear medallions around their necks that are charmed so they can see wizarding buildings that are usually invisible to everybody except magical folks,” Lochlan explained. “Uncle Harry gave them to dad, Uncle Aaron and Jack so that they could see places like the Leaky Cauldron that are invisible to muggle eyes.”  
“That's really neat,” Grey said, “but how in the world did they even get wizarding folks to even talk to them and not question why they were there in the first place?”  
“Apparently the wizarding population here in America for the most part is a lot more liberal about muggles knowing about them,” Landon said. “They don't seem to hate and loathe muggle-borns and half-bloods like a lot of those wizarding families in England do. I'm not saying there isn't some prejudice, but it isn't as ingrained or as widespread as it is in England.”  
“Well, England has been around a lot longer than America so that's probably part of it,” Sara pointed out.   
“Probably,” Lochlan agreed and the other two boys nodded.  
“Besides the English tend to be uptight and conservative,” Sara added at the moment, “so that's likely part of it as well.”  
“And we also must consider the fact that the purebloods over there have taken interbreeding to the extreme, which leads to all kinds of mental health problems among other things,” Grey said.  
“That's a good point,” Sara said. “So what do you three intend to do for the rest of the day since Spencer and Aaron aren't here?”   
“Well,” Landon said, “there's really no need for Grey and I to unpack since we really won't be here very long, probably not more than a few months at best. I don't see why the two of us can't live out of our trunks for that amount of time. Besides we need to start looking for places to live.”  
“Have you decided what kind of place you're looking for?” asked Lochlan looking Interested as he hadn't heard about these particular plans before.  
“Well,” Grey said entering the conversation, “Landon and I have discussed this at great length and we decided that we want something about this size so that we have plenty of room and don't feel crowded. Besides that way we'll always have plenty of room for guests like you and Michelle when you decide to come for a visit.”  
“We thought somewhere out in the country or outside a small town,” Landon added. “We haven't really decided if we are going to go to a wizarding real estate agent or a muggle one. Both have certain advantages and disadvantages.”  
“What are the advantages and disadvantages?” asked Sara with a raised eyebrow.   
“Well, if we go to a muggle real estate agent we'll have electricity so that we can have things like TVs, computers and other things that work with that. The only problem is that magic tends to disrupt electricity, especially if it's a large amount, so we wouldn't be able to say clean by magic.”   
“I see,” Sara said who did see the point Landon was trying to make. “Haven't you wizarding guys ever thought of creating some kind of shield for the electronics so that they will still work even with a lot of magic being used?”  
All three young men looked astonished at that this for they had never even thought about trying to create some kind of barrier to shield the electronics from large uses of magic.  
“That's absolutely brilliant, Sara!” Landon told her as he hugged her and kissed her cheek, which caused the older lady to blush a bright red.  
“It really is a great idea,” Grey agreed with a grin as he to hugged the older lady that had come to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time.  
“I wonder why no other magical folks else have ever thought of that?” asked Lochlan.  
“Perhaps someone has,” Sara pointed out. “You told me that the English were conservative or at least that the pureblooded minority were and since they're the ones that run the English wizarding community....”  
“… But things are different here,” Lochlan said finishing Sara's thought without difficulty. “From what we've seen they don't abhor muggle technology like the English wizarding community does, so whose to say that such a spell doesn't already exist?”  
“Exactly,” said Sara.  
“You're the best, Sara,” Landon said as he finished off his brownie that he had been consuming as they talked.   
“If there's one thing I'm going to miss it's your cooking,” Grey said closing his eyes as he savored the rich chocolaty taste of the brownie. Somehow Sara's cooking always seemed better then anywhere he had eaten before except maybe at Hogwarts, especially the sweets, but perhaps it had to do with the fact that he hadn't been used to eating much until he went to Hogwarts. The house-elf that had worked for his parents, well, before his father had killed her when he was 14 in a fit of rage, had always snuck him food when his parents weren't around. House-elves loved children anyway and they couldn't stand to see them so mistreated, but they couldn't go directly against their masters either. Luckily his parents had never thought about ordering Gabby to not feed him when they thought he had been bad, which was practically all the time. Actually he had known for a long time that his parents had never intended to have any children at all, but that his mother had forgotten to take her contraception potion and he had been created as a result, although why she just hadn't had an operation from the beginning escaped him as that would have prevented his mother from ever conceiving at all.  
Of course Gabby couldn't afford to feed him every meal that his parents forgot as that would have gotten them both in trouble and probably beaten, so it had been just on the sly, but it had been at least once a day and Grey would always be grateful to her, although he was sorry that she had lost her life due to one of his father's rages.  
At least his parents had clothed him and also taught him how to read and write and other things a young wizard needed to know in order to enter Hogwarts even if they forgot to feed him more than half the time not that those lessons had been any fun since both were very stern and demanding taskmasters and used a stinging hex on some part of his body if he didn't learn fast enough. He supposed he should be grateful that they hadn't used the Cruciatus curse on him and while he was he still resented the way they had treated their own flesh and blood. Actually it was kind of surprising that they hadn't considering how cruel they had been to a young boy who didn't know what he had done to deserve such treatment.  
“You'll just have to come and visit often and have lunch or dinner with us,” Sara said pulling Grey out of his rather morbid thoughts.  
“We'll have to do that,” Landon said and the other two young men nodded in agreement. “It isn't like we can't Apparate anywhere we want since we have taken the test and so long as we don't move to a different time zone I don't know why we can't come for dinner on a regular basis. I know that a lot of the muggle-borns in England cut off all contact with the world they were born into except their parents, but I certainly don't intend on doing that. Yes, I realize that the wizarding world is a separate community and they have different customs, but I still don't see why, muggle-borns should be forced to give up technology and other things and just live in one world or the other. If I have my way we're going to be part of both worlds. We'll both learn how to drive a car for example and get our licenses, we'll go to movies occasionally, we'll have telephones, TV, a computer and both the wizarding wireless and a regular radio.”  
“Sounds like heaven,” Grey said and Lochlan nodded in agreement. Grey had experienced a lot of the things that Landon had mentioned just in the summers he had spent with his family. He had loved going to movies and Landon had patiently taught him how to use the computer, although that had been quite a chore since he had never even known they existed, but now he was just about as good at using one as Landon was.  
“That sounds like an excellent goal to work towards,” Lochlan said, “and if you do figure out how to get electronics to work around a lot of magic you'll make a fortune if you decide to sell the spell. I intend on using that spell myself as I really didn't want to have to give up computers, TVs, DVD players, and all those other things that make life so much more pleasant, especially since the wizarding world doesn't really have much in the way of entertainment, such as games, except wizarding chess, Gobstones and Exploding Snap at least in England, although it might be different here in America.”  
“Well, I'm going to have to do some research first to make sure such a spell hasn't already been created,” Landon said. “I'm sure there's a wizarding a library somewhere, just like in England, I've just got to find out where, so I can begin my research.”  
“So when are you going to start house hunting?” asked Sara.   
“Well, first we've got to find a realtor,” Landon said. “It might just be easier to have our own place built to our specifications, although I realize that won't be cheap.”  
“We'll try finding a house first and if that doesn't pan out we'll do it the other way,” Grey said.  
“Why don't you just rent an apartment?” asked Lochlan who had been wondering this for sometime.   
“That would probably be a good idea for the short term,” Landon said, “but not for the long term.”  
“Why not?” asked Lochlan. “It's not like you can have children.”  
“Actually yes we can,” Landon told his brother with a grin at Lochlan's shocked look.   
“What do you mean?” asked Lochlan in surprise. “It's not like either of you can get pregnant.”   
“Ever heard of IVF or in vitro fertilization?” asked Landon and watched as comprehension slowly came upon his brother.  
“So you're going to have a baby that way, although I hope you realize that's very expensive.”   
“We have the money you know,” Landon answered, “so cost doesn't really matter. Really I'd like to have a whole houseful of kids that look like Grey.”  
“I'd rather have them look like you,” Grey said not seeming at all surprised at the current turn of conversation and that was because Landon had taken the time to explain about muggle technology and how two men could have a child or even several.  
“Will you check to see if the resident magical hospital here has the equivalent before you use muggle means?” asked Lochlan.   
“Yes,” Landon said. “Grey and I both want children, although not for a few years of course as that will give us time to settle into life here in America. We also need to find a female willing to carry the embryo or embryos in her womb for the entire nine months.”  
“So how many children do you two want?” asked Sara looking forward to having grandchildren to spoil even though she knew that technically she wouldn't be related to them not that it mattered to her.  
“Oh Landon and I wouldn't mind a whole gang of kids,” Grey said with a grin at the thought, “and they will certainly be treated better than my own parents did me. I was often lonely as a child because I never had any playmates, but I also realize that if my parents had had another one he or she might've turned out like them so it's probably just as well. Ever since I met Landon I've been thinking about the fact that I would love to have children with him, although I thought that wasn't going to be possible until he explained to me about muggle technology and how people have come up with a method to give childless couples children of their own if they didn't want to adopt.”  
“So at least five or six,” Sara guessed and both Landon and Grey nodded.  
“With at least one set of twins in there,” Landon added.   
“Don't you think that five or six is a few too many? I mean just think of Uncle Harry, and how he has eight children, which I always considered way to many,” asked Lochlan of his brother and Landon shook his head negatively.  
“I'm a lot like Uncle Harry in the respect that I adore children as you should know,” said Landon, “so if I had a dozen with Grey I wouldn't object, especially since we can afford them and the procedures that they will be created by. I know you love children to, although not as much as I do so how many do you eventually want with Michelle?”  
“Michelle and I discussed having at least three, maybe four, but no more than that,” Lochlan admitted.  
“So has the wedding date been set yet for you two?” asked Sara who knew that Lochlan had proposed to his girlfriend just before they graduated about a month ago.  
“It will probably be sometime next year,” Lochlan said, “since we have careers to get started and other preparations to make. Unlike my brother here Michelle wants a fairly big wedding as she has a lot of family and friends she wants to invite, which includes you, dad, Uncle Aaron, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and their children.”  
“At least you probably won't have to look for a place to live, since Michelle comes from a fairly old family and most of them have lots of houses in their portfolios,” Grey said. “I'll be very surprised if they don't give you one of them as your home so that you and Michelle won't have to find a house.”  
“The only problem with that is it won't be wired for electricity,” Lochlan said, “and I really don't want to have to give up my electronics if at all possible.”  
“You and Michelle will just have to work that out for yourselves,” Landon told his brother with just a little sympathy.  
“Well, her parents are very accommodating and extremely nice so I'm sure it won't be much of a problem,” Lochlan said. Lochlan and had met Michelle's parents and also her aunt on several occasions and liked all of them and they were just as impressed with him and didn't care that he was muggle-born, only caring that Michelle was happy.  
“Why don't you three go upstairs now so I can get dinner started in peace,” Sara said shooing them out of the kitchen.  
“Yes, Sara,” all three young men said with grins on their faces in unison.  
“Scat,” Sara told them fondly.  
“Yes, ma'am,” all three responded again at the same time and then hurried out of the kitchen before Sara could respond.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So how do you think the kids are doing?” Spencer asked his lover as the two of them shared lunch in a small cafe in Los Angeles where they were helping the police catch a serial killer.  
“They're hardly kids anymore as every one of them is over 18, which means that they are now considered grown up,” Hotch said by way of reply. “I know what you mean though as I still think of them as kids too and probably always will. To answer your question through, Sara would have called if there were any problems, so they're probably happy and healthy, although I'm sure they miss you.”  
“And you,” Spencer said wondering why his mate hadn't included himself in that statement.   
“Grey hardly knows me at all considering I'm barely ever home,” Hotch pointed out.   
“You can correct that you know by spending some time with him and the twins once this case is finished. I'm sure Sara has already invited them to come for dinner anytime they want for example.”  
“You're right, especially now that he is going to be part of our family once he and Landon get married. From what I have observed of him he seems a nice young man and I really do like him a lot.”  
“Yes, me too,” Spencer agreed with a nod. “I have to say that Landon has good taste in men, but then again like father like son.” Spencer fell silent for a minute and Hotch noticed that his expression seemed a little faraway and sad, but finally Spencer spoke again and said, “You know I'll bet you that the twins at least were surprised that I wasn't there to meet them when they arrived home.”  
“You didn't have to come with me you know,” Hotch pointed out with a half a smile now knowing the reason for his lover's faraway and sad expression.   
“This was my way of telling the twins that I know they're all grown up now and that they don't need someone looking over their shoulders all the time,” Spencer answered. “All parents have to cut the apron strings sometime and let their children grow up and now was as good a time as any.”  
“You raised them well so I'm sure they'll be back to visit frequently,” Hotch said.   
“You helped raise them too,” Spencer said.   
“Well, yes, but I really was gone a lot, probably what amounted to at least four or five months every year, so it was more you then me,” said Hotch.  
“You spent as much time with them as you could and Jack and the twins were smart enough to understand that you were with them as much as you could be,” Spencer said giving his lover's hand a squeeze. “They all love you and you know it. It doesn't matter to any of them that you were gone so much just so that when you were home you paid attention to them and didn't just ignore them like some parents do. You took the time to listen to what they were up to and you asked them about their day. Some parents don't do that as you know and therefore don't have a close bond with their kids. Children pick up on the intent of a person and the emotions quite easily you know and they might not have been consciously aware of it, but deep down they knew you loved and cared and that would've made all the difference.”  
“You're right,” Hotch said his melancholy fading a little. “It just seems like the time has flown and then they grew up way too fast on both of us.”   
“It does,” Spencer agreed. “The years did seem to fly by, but I try to look on the positive side of things, even if I too am a little sad that there are all grown up now. We both knew it would happen one day and that day has come.”   
“And what is the positive side?” asked Hotch with a smile already knowing the answer.   
“No kids in the house and with only Sara there besides us, that means much more time for you and me. I'm sure all four of our kids will be by to visit frequently, but for the most part we'll be alone as Sara knows how to stay out of the way.”  
“Four?” asked Hotch with a smile knowing that Spencer was counting Grey among the kids since both their hearts had gone out to the boy when they had heard the full story behind his abuse.  
“I'm counting Grey and you know that,” Spencer said with a smile. “Or I suppose you could say five if you include Michelle too.”  
“Well, while I really like Michelle a lot she has a family of her own that cares about her, so it isn't quite the same thing, although I realize that she will be our daughter-in-law, sometime in the next couple of years. I just don't feel as close to her as I do to Grey probably because we share similar pasts.”  
Spencer nodded for he felt the same way for he to shared a similar past with both Hotch and Grey and also Harry. “Yes, I know exactly what you mean,” Spencer agreed. “So how long do you think it will be before all three of them move out? I'm sure that Lochlan at least wants to get back to England and be with Michelle.”  
“I wouldn't expect Lochlan to stay much past the end of the summer. I know I wouldn't stick around if I had a fiancée in another country just waiting for me to come back,” Hotch said, “so I'm sure once he gets his final test results he'll be moving permanently to England. As for Landon and Grey I'm sure they'll start looking for a place to live probably in a couple of weeks once they have time to recover from their exams and then they'll move out too.”  
“Well at least Lochlan's not going to have to worry about hiring movers,” Spencer said with a smile. “Whatever he wants to take with him he just has to shrink down using magic and carry it in one trunk and then re-enlarge and that will certainly save a ton of money since shipping things overseas isn't exactly cheap.”  
“With things like the furniture, books, and clothes that's true,” Hotch agreed, “but I'm not sure you can do that to the electronics and then expect them to work afterwards.”  
“I hadn't thought of that, but you're more than likely correct,” Spencer said. “Miniaturizing any electronics probably isn't a good idea or at least it's not for a computer. I'm not sure if the same principal applies for things like TV, DVD players and things of that nature. Really there's not as much sensitive technology in things like that, that there is in a computer so it might be okay to shrink something like that down.”  
“I would still ask somebody who knows the answer before they try it though just in case,” Hotch commented. “You don't want wreck a perfectly good TV or any other electronics by shrinking it down if it will make them stop working.”  
The two men finished lunch talking amicably and all to soon they knew it was time for Hotch to get back to work at least.  
“I'll see you back at the hotel, although I'm not sure exactly what time that's going to be,” Hotch said.   
“Just call me if you going to be really late,” Spencer requested and Hotch nodded.   
“I will,” Hotch agreed. “Hopefully we won't be done for the day too late and we can go out to dinner somewhere, although I can't guarantee that.”   
“If you need any help with this case all you have to do is call me and I'll be glad to come help you with it,” Spencer said and Hotch nodded.  
“I will if it looks like it's something that's right up your alley,” Hotch promised. “Right now the case isn't looking too complicated and we should catch our bad guy hopefully in a few days.”  
“Just expect me to start traveling with you more on cases now that the boys have their own lives,” Spencer told him as Hotch paid the bill.   
“I don't mind that at all,” Hotch assured him with a smirk. “I like you traveling with the team on cases since it gives us more time together then we would get otherwise and it also means that you are immediately available to help with a case if you need to instead of you having to fly out on short notice.”  
“Yep, which is one of the reasons I'm going to start doing it. Besides it will stop me from being too bored while you're gone even if I have to see some of the city while you're working. Besides that means we'll be together at night and at least some meals.”  
“It was nice of the team to tell us to go out to lunch without them,” Hotch said.  
“Yes, it was,” Spencer agreed with a smile as he thought about the team that were just as much his family as Hotch or his three sons. “They probably felt we deserved some time alone without them around and I'm going to have to find a way to thank them since I more than likely wouldn't have seen you until you finished for the night if they hadn't.”  
“We'll have dinner with the rest of the team more than likely,” Hotch said, “after all we have to eat, although the team has been known to skip meals if our unsub is moving quickly as you know.”  
Spencer nodded for he know that very well since he had had to do it with the team more than once when an unsub was killing multiple times within hours instead of days.  
“You call me if you want me to meet you somewhere for dinner instead of you coming back to the hotel,” Spencer said as Hotch dropped him off at the hotel entrance.   
“I will,” Hotch promised before driving towards the police station to continue working the case with the rest of the team.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Landon and Grey, age 21

Landon and Grey had decided that it was time to start their family now that they were both settled into a very small town in Idaho called Castleford. Both had decided to just have a house built after not finding anything that they both liked and so that was what they had done. For one thing they had visited each of the towns as they had wanted to check out the residents to see if they would be against same-sex couples as they weren't about to settle down somewhere that such things were loathed and hated, even of they weren't seen around town much. They wanted neighbors that were friendly, but didn't ask to many questions about their lives, what they did for a living and so forth and they had found that in the very small town of Castleford Idaho. Spencer had protested that he didn't want them moving so far away, but Landon had pointed out that they could Floo when they wanted to see them or Apparate or even drive. Spencer and Hotch now had the Floo set up in the fireplace in the study and not many people were allowed in there that weren't members of the family. They also had a Floo connection in the living room as well, but it was set up in such a way that if somebody's head appeared in the Floo they wouldn't be visible except to Hotch, Spencer, Sara, Jack or another witch or wizard. In fact to anybody else the fireplace would look just the same as when the Floo wasn't active.  
Finally Spencer had stopped protesting because he knew that Landon and Grey were both adults and could make their own decisions. Besides he couldn't really protest about them moving so far away when Lochlan was moving to England, which was even farther.  
Several years ago both Landon and Grey had visited the wizarding hospital in Virginia to see if they had a procedure to help a gay couple have children and it turned out that they healers did indeed have such a procedure.  
In fact they wouldn't even need to find a female to carry the fetus as the American healers had perfected what was still a theoretical device to muggles known as an artificial uterus. The artificial uterus would grow a baby without the need for a human female. It would still take the donation of a female egg and male sperm in order to create the embryo though, but the healers had solved that too. The artificial uterus would not only feed nutrients to the embryo, but get rid of waste and feed antibiotics and other potions that would later prevent disease into the growing baby or babies. Landon and Grey had both been shocked as well as thrilled to discover that they wouldn't need to find a female to carry a baby for nine months and that it all could be taken care of in the artificial womb, which was good because it would have been difficult to find either a muggle female or a witch that they trusted to carry the baby to term.  
Spencer and Hotch had known about it of course, because they had visited the wizarding hospital that was in Virginia several years ago just to investigate if they had the technology to give a gay couple children.  
“We have an announcement,” Landon said as he and Grey came into the living room of the Reid/Hotchner home, the house they had grown up in.  
Both boys were now 21 and had been married for just under three years. They had settled into life in America relatively easily although Grey was still learning about the Muggle world a little at a time. Also now that Landon was 21 he had gotten control of his trust fund which had increased in value since he had told Grey about it when they were in their 7th year at Hogwarts. Landon's trust fund was now worth about 30 million instead of 25 and so was Lochlan's of course.  
Grey and Landon had talked about having children while they had been doing their last year at school and now that day had finally come.  
All three adults that lived in the house paid attention to Landon's words even though they all knew what was coming. Hotch, Spencer and Sara had all been anticipating Landon and Grey finally announcing that they were ready to have children because Lochlan and Michelle had already had one just last year a boy they had named Samuel.  
“I'm sure you all know what I'm about to say,” Landon joked as he saw the looks of excited anticipation on all three faces, “but I'll just plow ahead. Grey and I have finally decided that we're ready to start our own family and we have an appointment at Alchemia's Hospital next week.”  
“Oh I'm so excited,” Sara exclaimed as she rushed forward and hugged Landon kissing his cheek and then did the same to Grey.  
“Don't get too excited yet Sara, there is still quite a long process we have to go through and even after we complete that it will be nine months before the baby is born.”  
“So I have you decided if you're just going to have one or two?” asked Spencer.  
“Well, since Grey and I want more than just two or three children if we do decide not to have twins this time we'll still have another chance,” Landon said and Grey nodded.  
“We probably will request twins,” Grey said quietly, “although we haven't fully decided because we know that one baby is a lot a work and two is double that.”  
“I can help you with that,” Sara offered. “I can babysit for you whenever you need me to.”  
“And so can I,” added Spencer. “I raised you, didn't I? After all I didn't meet Aaron until you guys were four.”  
“Thanks that will help a lot,” Grey said gratefully and Landon nodded in agreement.  
“You're welcome,” Spencer and Sara said together.   
“You know I will do what I can,” Hotch said, “but I don't know when I'll be able to watch them considering I'm gone so much.”   
“Whatever you can do will be fine,” Landon assured his uncle. “Lochlan and I always appreciated whatever time you could spend with us and we never resented you having to be gone so much because we knew you loved your job and doing what you do. You were always the best uncle to us, one that showed he loved and cared about us when he was home and that was all Lochlan and I needed.”  
“Thanks,” Hotch said with genuine smile, relaxing.   
“I'm sure that our children will be smart enough to recognize that you're going to have to be gone sometimes and I'm sure they won't love you any less,” Grey said.  
“Why don't you stay for dinner?” Sara asked. “We hardly ever see you anymore.”   
“We do visit at least a couple times a week for a few hours,” Landon pointed out.   
“Yes you do, but I suppose I'm still used to having you around all day every day, although it hasn't been that way in ten years.”  
“All right, we'd be fools to turn down one of your dinners and one thing we aren't, is fools,” said Grey after looking at Landon who nodded.  
“I had better get started on that,” said Sara looking at her watch and noticing that it was just after five.  
“So are you excited about being parents pretty soon?” asked Hotch.   
“Very,” Landon answered immediately, “although we're both worried that this method won't work like it should even though it's been done with witches and wizards before.”  
“These worries are only natural, especially since the artificial uterus is still only a theoretical concept for us muggles,” Spencer said. “When I saw it for the first time I was amazed that they had refined it and gotten it to actually work.”  
“Magic can do many wondrous things that muggle technology cannot, but on the other hand the reverse is also true,” Grey said. “The magical community in England could learn a lot from muggles if they would only open themselves to the possibilities and yet they think that they can't learn a thing from anybody without magic and so they don't even bother to try or at least a large percentage of them don't.”  
“Magical folks aren't any different from ordinary ones,” Hotch told Grey kindly. “People are people, magical or not. Yes, magical folks have abilities that normal people can only dream about, but they're still human and not better than anybody else no matter what some of them think, but the reverse is also true and muggles aren't better then magical folks either.”  
“We could learn a lot from each other if only muggles and magical folks were willing to try and not let their fears hold them back from learning new and amazing things,” Spencer added. “It is the threat of the unknown that holds both groups back from really exploring all the possibilities.”  
“I think I see what you're saying,” Grey said slowly. “You're saying that if we would get to know each other we wouldn't fear the muggles and the muggles wouldn't fear us.”  
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed. “I know there are a lot of unscrupulous people on both sides, but it is still possible if we would only learn to trust each other.”  
The conversation was cut off abruptly as Sara called them all to dinner and so the subject was dropped for the moment to be taken up at a later date.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So ready to go?” Landon asked Grey as the two young men finished getting dressed. “We don't want to be late for our appointment at Alchemia's Hospital.”  
“Yes, I'm ready,” Grey said finally as he finished tucking in his dress shirt into his slacks.  
“Then we had better head out,” Landon said and Grey nodded looking a little nervous. Both young men looked very dapper in dress shirts, slacks and dress shoes. The only reason they had gotten dressed up was that they wanted to look nice for their appointment at Alchemia's Hospital and make a good impression.  
“Did I mention that you look very handsome and delectable in that outfit,” Landon as his eyes roved up-and-down Grey's body and he was mentally undressing his mate in his mind. It was very true that Grey looked absolutely delectable in his gray dress shirt that was the exact same shade as his eyes and made of some kind of shimmery material that almost seemed to change color in certain lights and black slacks. Grey was a very handsome young man and whenever they went out somewhere Landon noticed that the females always drooled and tried to get his attention. Grey had slightly shaggy blonde hair with red highlights that was slightly long like Landon's, but unlike his lover's he had bangs that kept constantly falling into his eyes unless he had it tied back in a ponytail, with light gray eyes that looked almost silver at times depending on the lighting. Actually Grey's eyes tended to change according to his mood as they could turn to a stormy gray when he was angry or upset and it was almost like storm clouds rolling in, or they could appear much brighter then they actually were if he was really happy because it seemed like his eyes lit up from within, which turned them a very light gray that was nearly colorless. Grey's normal color though was somewhere in between dark and light gray, which was kind of a medium gray. Landon could literally get lost in Grey's eyes without much trouble as he found the way they could change color in a split second absolutely riveting. Grey was short for man at 5'8', but had broad shoulders that led down to a tapered waist, narrow hips and long legs. He was also fairly muscular and thanks to his broad shoulders his muscles were much more noticeable then Landon, unless he was wearing short sleeves.  
Grey blushed and instantly wished that they had time to fuck each other senseless, but he knew if they did they'd be late for their appointment and he wasn't about to make a bad impression on the healer.  
“You look very handsome too,” Grey said and his mouth almost literally watered as he to let his gaze sweep up and down Landon's taller frame.  
Landon like his father Spencer was tall, although Landon was a five inches taller at 6'3' with narrow shoulders, slimly muscular, especially in the arms and legs, slim waist and hips, with very long legs that completed the package. Landon also had black hair like his Uncle Aaron except fairly curly with his father's golden brown eyes. Landon to was wearing a dress shirt except a green so dark it looked nearly black with a pair of beige slacks. Both shirts had open collars that showed their throats and a little bit of their chests, making both young men even more attractive and mouthwatering to look at, especially since their clothes fit them to perfection as if they had been expertly tailored.  
Landon and Grey walked outside and as soon as they had closed and locked the door to their house they both Apparated to the entrance of Alchemia's Hospital that was located in the wizarding section of Norfolk. Norfolk was one of the largest cities in Virginia and therefore it was relatively easy to hide a fairly large wizarding section where there were shops, a hospital, the Ministry of America and anything else the magical folks could want. There were spells all over the wizarding section of course to where a muggle would just walk by it without noticing it at all unless you either had someone who was a witch or wizard lead you in or were like Spencer and Hotch who wore special medallions that allowed you to not only see buildings and other things that were normally hidden from muggle eyes, but also ignore those little urges that told you, you needed to be elsewhere.  
“May I help you?” asked the witch at the reception counter.   
“Yes, we have an appointment with Healer Howard Keyes at 10 o'clock,” Grey answered confidently.  
“Maternity, fifth floor. You can ask someone up there if you need directions to his office,” the receptionist said pointing at the row of elevators.  
“Thank you,” Landon told the receptionist politely he and Grey heading towards the elevators not looking back so that they didn't see the young witch behind the reception desk stare at their retreating forms almost drooling as she thought about what she would like to do with those two handsome young men who were only a little younger then her.


	5. Chapter 5

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So from what I understand from what you're telling me the two of you want to have a child or even several eventually,” Healer Keyes said summarizing what Landon and Grey had just told him.  
“That's right,” Landon told the healer. “We could've done this the muggle way, but then we would've had to find a female to carry the embryo. We know a lot of women, but we're not close enough to any of them to ask such a thing, except perhaps for Michelle and she's married to my twin brother.”  
“Besides if we had done it the muggle way there would be no guarantee that any child we had would have magic and we want them to if at all possible, although if they didn't we would have been happy even if they hadn't had the family talents so to speak.”  
“I can tell from your accent that you're from England what are you doing in America?” asked Howard a little curiously.   
Landon and Grey looked at each other and then Grey said, “Landon and me along with Landon's brother Lochlan went to Hogwarts together and that's where we became a couple. Before we graduated we decided that we were going to move to America since two men in a relationship isn't really accepted over there in either the muggle or wizarding worlds.”  
“Besides I like the American wizarding world as they are much more relaxed and less uptight about some things,” Landon added. “Not to mention your medical technology is much more advanced in certain ways than it is in England and your purebloods are not so interbred to the degree that there are defects showing up, like mental instability, which is partly what caused the whole wizarding war in the first place.”  
“And this way we can go visit Landon's family anytime we like so long as we call ahead to make sure they're home, of course,” Grey added.  
“In fact now that I know that you American witches and wizards have been successful doing blood transfusions of a werewolf that make him like everybody else I'm going to suggest that Remus Lupin come here and have it done. He's a friend of our uncle's who is English and has been a werewolf since he was six,” Landon added.  
“The British don't have the equivalent?” asked Howard in surprise.   
“No, in fact a certain faction do their best to deny werewolves the opportunity to find work at all, although that's improved a lot since the end of the wizarding war, but some of the old more conservative purebloods are fighting Kingsley Shacklebolt the Minister Magic tooth and nail and so certain needed changes are coming very slowly.”  
“Well, that's very fascinating, but let's get back to the reason for your appointment,” Howard suggested and two young men nodded. “This process is very expensive since it's still a relatively new and difficult thing to do. We check all the eggs that female witches donate and then we cryofreeze them so that they are always fresh until they're ready to be used. All the females must have a thorough medical examination to make sure they don't have any diseases or other medical problems before the egg or eggs is extracted. We have almost 1000 eggs to choose from and will let you choose the donor egg.  
“Well that's not something either one of us expected,” Grey said looking surprised.   
“We are very modern here,” Howard replied with a smile. “What each female looked like, their height, weight hair color, musculature, eye color, how strong their magical ability is and other characterizations are written down and put with the appropriate egg. Once you choose what egg or eggs you want to use, it will be combined with one of your sperms or even both if you want nonidentical twins and then put into the artificial uterus and in nine months you will have your child.”  
“Wow!” Landon said looking impressed. “You sure have simplified the process.”  
“We did our best so that it would be easy on both the person who wanted to have a baby this way and also the healer in charge,” Howard answered with a smile. “No point in making it complicated if it doesn't have to be. So now that we've got that out-of-the-way why don't you tell me exactly what you're looking for in a child.”  
“Well,” Grey answered, “Landon and I discussed this and decided that we wanted twins since he and his brother are identical twins.”  
Howard looked interested so Landon continued, “It doesn't really matter what female eggs you use so long as we are sure that the woman in question was healthy and didn't have any medical problems and since you told us that all the females undergo thorough medical exams that means we don't have to worry about our children having any serious medical problems unless they develop something later after they are grown.”  
“Good you are certainly a lot more accommodating than some of the other witches and gay couples I've done this for,” Howard said relieved. “Now before we begin we need to give both of you a thorough medical exam just like we did for those women that donated the eggs and make sure you are both healthy, without any hidden problems.”  
“We expected something of the sort,” Grey admitted looking at Landon who nodded.  
“The exam will take a couple of hours apiece and once that is done and your results come back, we should be able to go and choose two eggs.”  
“From the same female,” Landon requested and Howard nodded.   
“We do have a few women that donated multiple eggs. Now my next question is do you want nonidentical twins where both of you donate sperm or is just one of you going to do that as you have a good chance of having identical twins.”  
“Both of us,” Grey said immediately and Landon nodded in agreement.   
“It sure will make them easier to tell apart unlike when my brother and I were growing up,” Landon agreed. “Our father finally had to start dressing each of us in different colored outfits so that it was easier to tell us apart until we grew up enough that we had our own separate personalities.”  
“Nowadays it's easier with both of you grown up,” Grey said.   
Howard looked curious and Landon explained, “My brother has kept his hair short while mine is long and so while we may still look exactly alike that's the way you tell us apart.”  
“Let's get the two of you into an examination room,” Howard said and the two young men nodded. Howard stood up out from behind his desk and led Grey and Landon in to a free examination room and then left them there while he went to do a few things before he started their exams.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Well, that went well,” Grey said as the two of them sat down side-by-side on the metal examination bed that was in the room.  
“So far,” Landon said.   
“You sound skeptical that they're going to give us what we both want so bad,” Grey said looking at Landon a question in his eyes.   
“Not skeptical precisely just worried that they'll find something wrong with one of us that's all. Call it last-minute jitters. I try not to worry about situations like this, but then again I don't think I've ever encountered something that I want so much that I'm afraid is going to be denied me for some reason.”  
“Don't worry, everything is going to turn out fine,” Grey said with confidence leaning his head on Landon's shoulder in a gesture of comfort, although on the inside he was worried too. They both wanted a family so badly and had considered adopting, but if they had done that the child wouldn't have magic and the muggle IVF treatment was just as bad considering they would have to find a female that they trusted that would be willing to carry the embryos for nine months, even if it was just a surrogate.  
“I hope you're right,” Landon said, but Grey didn't have a chance to respond as the Healer came back just then.   
“Ready to get started?” Howard asked and both young man nodded. “There's no reason to be nervous I'm sure my exam will find that you are both in perfect health.”  
“We certainly hope so,” Grey told the healer with a half smile.  
“We can't help, but worry though,” Landon added. “Once the exam is finished and you tell us the results I'm sure we'll stop, but until then…”  
Howard laughed and then said, “Alright let's get started so that the two of you can quit worrying yourselves to death.”  
The two young man nodded and then did as Howard instructed them to do.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Once Landon and Grey got home from their appointment at the hospital they immediately headed up to their bedroom for they'd had trouble keeping their hands off each other until the examination was completed and both of them were all hot and bothered and the only thing that was going to relieve them of the feeling, well, besides a cold shower, was to fuck each other senseless. Why bother to take a cold shower though when you could just make love, multiple times until both their libidos were finally sated?  
They entered the bedroom and immediately began to strip throwing their clothes into the hamper before turning down the bed on both sides.  
The bed was king sized with a wooden headboard that had some kind of fancy design carved into it. Both Grey and Landon had liked it immediately when they had seen it in the store and so they had bought it for their bedroom, along with a matching dresser and chest for their clothes.  
“Do you know I've been wanting you even before we left the house for our appointment?” asked Landon conversationally as he salivated at Grey's naked body for the other man was very muscled and toned with a slight tan. “You looked so handsome in that shirt almost the same color as your eyes, that showcased the muscles in your arms and chest perfectly, with those tightfitting slacks. All I wanted to do was throw you down on the bed and fuck you senseless.”  
“Well then, why don't you do that?” asked Grey who was also having trouble controlling himself as looking at his mate's naked body was doing the same things to him that it had done to Landon, when his lover looked at his body. “I've been wanting you to you know and I had a hard time resisting just taking you at the hospital. How I managed to behave myself, I have no idea.”   
What Grey said was true for his cock was already more than half hard just as Landon's was.  
“Well then,” Landon said huskily, “since we both want the same thing…”   
With those words Landon attacked Grey and both of them landed on the bed with a slight bounce.  
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Landon said over and over again, even as he kissed, nipped and licked every part of Grey's chest, finally sticking his tongue into his lover's belly button causing Grey to groan and almost come off the bed as intense pleasure surged through his body just from that little gesture alone.  
“I love you too,” Grey told Landon his voice strained with desire and passion as the feelings in his belly started to build rapidly.  
“Thank you for agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me,” Landon said even as he continued to lick Grey's nipples avoiding the area where he knew his lover needed him the most for the moment.  
“I couldn't do anything else,” Grey assured his partner pulling Landon's head down and giving him a gentle, tender, passionate kiss on the lips, pouring every ounce of feeling he had into it even as his tongue was demanding entrance to Landon's mouth, which was granted. “I love you and have since we met at 11 years old. I know I would have spent the rest of my life alone if you hadn't felt the same way that I did.”  
They continued to kiss even as their tongues battled each other as they explored every nook and cranny of the other mouths and when they finally broke apart what seemed minutes later, but when they looked at the clock it had been over half an hour.  
“Wow!” both men breathed unable to believe they had been kissing for half an hour. How time flew when you were having fun!  
“I love you,” Landon told Grey taking his head in both his hands and tenderly placing a kiss on his forehead, his nose and both cheeks before finally claiming his lips for his very own.  
“I love you too,” Grey assured him overwhelmed by the love and tenderness he saw in his partner's eyes. He had never been loved in his whole life, before he had met Landon, his brother Lochlan, Art, Michelle and Lily. They were the best friends he had ever had, which wasn't surprising since really they were the only friends he had ever had since his parents had never allowed him out of the house much. He had been surprised when his feelings for Landon had developed into something more then the deep friendship that he shared with the other four and he had been surprised that he always knew which twin was which as in those days Landon and Lochlan looked exactly the same, with the same length and color to their hair, same eye color and facial bone structure. They were even the same height!  
Somehow he had always known which one was Landon and which one was Lochlan and he wasn't sure how he did just that telling them apart was as easy for him, well as telling nonidentical siblings apart. For others though that hadn't been the case as the other students were always getting them confused and calling Lochlan, Landon and Landon, Lochlan.  
Landon continued kissing him, but this time on Grey's inner thigh sucking a little on the skin.  
Grey groaned, pleaded and begged as he withered beneath his lover for Landon had known for sometime that his thighs, especially the inner ones, near his cock, were very sensitive to sensation and sucking on it was almost enough to make him come right then.  
“Landon! Please!” Grey begged his lover his voice breathless.  
“Do you want me to stop?” asked Landon with a wicked smirk as he stopped what he was doing causing Grey to look up at him pleadingly.   
“No! Please! Don't stop!” Grey begged shamelessly gripping Landon by the shoulders trying to pull him closer, but Landon refused to budge.  
“Alright if you're sure that's what you want,” Landon teased him stroking his lover's inner left thigh gently with just a couple of fingers as Grey looked up at him pleadingly. “Landon!” Grey begged. “Get on with it!”  
“Alright,” Landon finally agreed unable to resist taking Grey any longer since he was absolutely irresistible laying there on his back with his legs spread apart, pillow under his hips, totally and completely naked, his cock standing at attention, hard as a rock, standing up straight like a flag, for all to see, although he was the only one who was allowed to see his lover in his undressed state, “so long as you promise to return the favor.”   
“You know I will,” Grey promised his lover and with those words Landon continued licking and nipping his partner's inner thigh, except the right one this time and Grey let out a long continuous groans, whimpers and purrs as the feelings that had been coiling within his belly, got stronger and stronger until finally his cock, which had steadily been dripping semen exploded and sprayed all over Landon just as Landon's did the same, except spraying all over Grey and the sheets instead.  
Landon collapsed on top of Grey knowing from experience that he was light enough not to hurt his lover and lay there silently for some time except for his panting as he tried to get his breath back after such an intense, earthshattering climax.  
While Landon was doing that Grey was doing the same thing as his climax had been just as earthshattering as his lover's had been.  
“Wow! Our climaxes just keep getting more intense the more we practice,” Landon said finally after he had gotten his breath back, rolled off Grey's chest and onto his side of the bed not even minding that the sheets were soaked with his and Grey's semen, since they were easy to clean with a little magic.  
“Well, you know what they say,” Grey said with a smirk, “the more you practice the better you'll get at something and in the case of us fucking each other senseless I intend to practice a lot.”  
“Isn't that what we've been doing for the last three years?” asked Landon in an amused tone with a raised eyebrow.   
“Actually it's more like four years since we've been having sex since we were 17,” Grey corrected and Landon nodded.  
“I was counting from when we were actually legally married, but you're right it's been four years since we started fucking each other regularly and yes, I agree that we've gotten much better at it since then, but instead of talking why don't we continue what we were just doing unless you're to tired,” Landon said kissing and licking the side of Grey's neck for despite his words his body was ready for another round and so was his cock, perhaps even a third or fourth, before they finally went to sleep, but then unlike his father and uncle both him and Grey were young and could fuck each other for hours at a time, before finally succumbing to sleep.   
“I'd have to be dead to be too tired for that,” Grey answered immediately as he felt the tender kisses and licks on the side of his neck and watched as his cock, which had been flaccid, immediately get hard again. “I believe though that it's my turn this time, so unless I'm mistaken you just had your way with my body.”   
“So it is,” Landon agreed laughing as he conceded that Grey was 100 percent correct. “What position do you want me in? On my back? On my stomach? On my side? Or do you want me to hook my legs over your shoulders?”  
They had discovered through trial and error that they could have sex in all these positions, although it was different for each one. The two young men were considered versatile partners as both didn't mind either the top and the bottom when having sex and enjoyed both positions. Neither Grey or Landon really considered themselves alpha males and therefore each enjoyed being penetrated by their partner's cock. If you were an alpha male like Uncle Aaron you preferred to be on top when having sex, although in Hotch's case he allowed Spencer to top him occasionally, even if being on the bottom was not what he preferred.  
“On your stomach,” Grey ordered his lover, “but before you do that get the cock rings and vibrator out of the bedside drawer.” Both young men had discovered that having a few sexual toys around could increase both their pleasures and so they had such things as cock rings, butt plugs, and a vibrator that they both used on a regular basis as it intensified their lovemaking.  
“Oh, feeling adventurous are we?” asked Landon with a grin as he did as ordered immediately and got the cock rings and vibrator out of the nightstand drawer, without even having to get out of bed.  
“When it comes to you, yes, I am,” Grey told Landon with a grin of his own. “This will stop either one of us from coming until we're ready.”  
“And make our climaxes at least twice as explosive, if not three times more powerful,” Landon added with a smirk looking forward to it.  
“That too,” Grey agreed with the smirk of his own. “I never knew such things existed before you introduced me to them, since such things don't exist in the wizarding world, so thank you for that.”   
“You're more than welcome,” Landon assured him with a grin. “I enjoy it just as much as you do.”  
“Now back to business,” Grey said as he took the two cock rings out of Landon's hand and placed one on his own erect cock before doing the same for his lover making sure they were as far down as they would go at the base of both their penises. After that he watched as Landon flipped onto his stomach and Grey took the vibrator that was laying on the bed and turned it on before pushing it into Landon's anus and made sure it was far enough up to stimulate the prostrate. As soon as Grey had done that he released the vibrator and let it do its job as he took over and begin kissing and licking all up and down Landon's back and shoulders avoiding his butt entirely for the moment.  
“Ahhh,” Landon groaned as the vibrator did its work as did the cock ring and his climax that was starting to coil in his belly began to intensify rapidly. Landon could feel all the blood rushing to his cock, but it couldn't release until the cock ring, which was stretchable rubber, was removed.  
As the sensations in Landon's stomach had been intensifying Grey had continued to kiss, nip, and lick all up-and-down his lover's shoulder blades, until finally moving to the back of Landon's legs, which he began to gently stroke very softly and tenderly.  
“I love your legs and thighs do you know that?” asked Grey rhetorically already knowing that Landon was well aware that Grey's favorite part of his anatomy, besides his cock of course, was his legs and thighs.  
Grey had never been sure what attracted him so much to Landon's legs and thighs, he just knew that they were very well muscled and the skin was extra soft or at least it seemed that way to his touch. Oh Grey loved every single part of his lover's body, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, it was just that he had a special fondness for his mate's legs and thighs and he couldn't seem to explain it to himself any better than that. Perhaps it was just that he was a leg man like a lot of men, except instead of loving a woman's long legs it was another man's in his case.  
Grey continued kissing up-and-down both Landon's thighs starting with the right and once he was sure that one was thoroughly treated to his kisses, gentle nips and licks he went onto the left and started doing the same thing.  
Landon let out a continuous series of groans, whimpers and purrs as Grey continued what he was doing, although Grey knew deep within his soul that he wouldn't last much longer as he felt as if he was going to explode pretty soon cock rings or not and he knew without having to ask that Landon felt the same.   
Grey finally finished what he was doing to Landon's leg and thighs and also finally removing the vibrator from his lover's anus, causing Landon to groan almost in relief, as well as whimper at the loss since his prostrate was no longer being overstimulated by the vibrator.  
“Well, you successively melted me into a puddle of goo so could you get on with it?” Landon groaned. “I feel as if I'm about to explode.”  
“Oh I'm only halfway done,” Grey teased his mate, although he knew very well that he wouldn't last much longer himself.  
Landon closed his golden brown eyes for a moment and when he opened them again he looked at Grey his expression filled with such love and tenderness that it made the other man's breath catch in his throat.  
“Do whatever you want with me, for I am yours for the rest of our time on this earth and I will never need or want another,” Landon told Grey, softly and tenderly his voice entirely sincere, unaware that he was echoing almost exactly the same words that Hotch had told his father many years ago.  
“Neither will I,” Grey assured the his mate just as softly and sincerely even as he flipped Landon over removed the cock ring from the base of both their penises with hard yanks and almost as if choreographed Landon smoothly turned over onto his back and then lifted his legs up and hooked them over his lover's shoulders so that Grey would have no trouble reaching his hole and inserting his cock. Thanks to the vibrator that had been in his anus for so long he was already extremely wet without the need for any gel, which was a good thing as neither one of them had time to apply any before they both came. Grey shoved his cock into Landon's anus, not having time to be gentle since he was holding back his release through sheer force of will, where it immediately exploded violently and took a long, long time to finally quit spurting semen and lay flaccid.  
As Grey's cock was doing this, Landon had also climaxed just as violently except all over his lover's stomach and it also took quite awhile for his cock to finally quit spurting out little streams of seed.  
Both young men lay there silently for awhile just holding each other close not even caring that the bed was soaked wit their semen from their lovemaking.  
“Another round?” asked Grey after awhile, although he did feel pretty tired, which was no wonder considering how violently they had both come, “or are we done for the moment?”   
“Oh, I'd say we're done for right now,” Landon said as he too was pretty tired after his rather violent climax the second one of the night.  
“In that case I'm for sleep,” Grey said cuddling into Landon.   
“Me to. I love you,” Landon said also curling up as close as he could get to Grey before both young man drifted off into dreamland extremely content after some of the best lovemaking they had ever had.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A week later the results of the exams that Landon and Grey had undergone came back and inform them that they were both in perfect health and that the healer was ready any time for them to make an appointment for them to choose the eggs and give sperm so that they could get the process started.  
Landon and Grey made an appointment for just a few days later as they were both eager to get this process over with, although they knew they would have to wait nine months for their babies to actually be born or maybe it was more accurate to say to be completely finished growing to leave the safety of the artificial womb. Really the artificial uterus was just like the real thing except that the waste was taken away magically and the fetuses fed and oxygen provided the same way.  
The two young men followed Healer Keyes as he led them to where they kept the frozen female eggs.  
“Wow! This is really impressive!” Grey said impressed despite himself while Landon just looked around not as impressed as he had seen freezer cases this big before at the muggle hospital, although they weren't used to keep a female's eggs, but for various samples that they were testing in the labs.  
“I've seen such things before,” Landon told Grey when the other man looked at him. “They have these kind of freezers at muggle hospitals that they use for samples when they're trying to discover what kind of disease someone has.”  
“We actually did get the idea from the muggles,” Howard admitted. “The only difference is that all the samples are frozen by magic instead of using technology.”  
“Well, it's no wonder they don't have something like this in England for most of the magical folks over their loathe muggles and everything they represent, which of course includes muggle technology,” Grey said. “Not everyone of course, but the ones that have a lot of power do and they still have a large influence on the magical community.”  
“There are some people like that here too, but they're not the ones in control,” Howard said.   
“Thank goodness for that,” Landon said fervently, “or we would never be able to have a family unless we used muggle means and there would be no guarantee that our children would be magical. Not to mention having to find a female to carry them to term.”  
Howard asked them what their specifications were for a child and Grey and Landon said that it didn't really matter, although they did want him or her to look at least something like their fathers if it was possible to control something like that.  
“Really we don't have any preferences just so long as they are healthy,” Landon told the healer who nodded thinking that these two young men were certainly much easier to work with then some of his other patients who wanted what was almost designer babies, which was not only unethical and immoral, but illegal. The way they did it here at Alchemia's was preserve a female's eggs let the witch or wizard choose whose egg they wanted and then let nature take it's course, which was the moral and ethical way to do things.  
“If you choose a female with black hair like yours for example there's almost a 100% chance that it will come out that color, although there have been some surprises when a child was born with a totally opposite hair or eye color from either of their parents, which is just a quark of genetics.”  
Landon nodded for he had been aware of this since it was just something that most everybody knew in the muggle world, although Grey looked fascinated.  
“Black hair is the most dominant hair color,” Landon explained to his lover, “and after that brown as both only take one gene apiece and only have to come from one parent instead of both. Both red and blonde hair take two genes one from each parent and only if the color is within three or four generations. This is how a child can end up with blond or red hair when neither parent has it or only one does, because somewhere in both parents family tree within just a few generations is the genetic code for that color.”  
Howard looked impressed at Landon's explanation, but immediately got back to business. “So you want a female that has blonde or black hair?”   
“Blond,” Landon answered immediately, “because that means at least one of them will probably come out with that color while the other one will more than likely have mine since black is the dominant color.”  
“Do you have any females with blond hair and gray eyes like mine?” asked Grey. “I would love to pass my gray eyes to my son or daughter since I know that, that color is really rare.”  
Howard shook his head apologetically and said, “I'm afraid not because as you said gray is a very rare eye color and it's also a recessive gene which both parents have to have the generic code for. Actually every single eye color, except brown is recessive. Your chances of getting gray eyes go up so long as your donor eggs eyes weren't brown since that is the dominant eye color.”  
“Alright then a female with blond hair and any eye color except brown,” Grey said, “so that my chances of getting a child with gray eyes goes up.”  
“That we can do,” Howard said with a nod, “of course you know there are no guarantees.”   
“I know,” Grey agreed, “but at least this betters my chances. Besides even if one of them doesn't end up with my gray eyes Landon I do intend on having more after this once these are two or three years old.”  
“We want a large family,” Landon explained to Howard who nodded. “I'm a lot like my Uncle Harry over in England as he loves children and has eight with his wife, but then two of those are twins and three are triplets so Ginny was only pregnant five times instead of eight.”  
“Neither of us will mind if we have a dozen,” Grey added with a grin. “We have plenty of money, so it's not like having that many would put us in any difficulty financially.”  
“Of course if some female had to carry the babies for nine months I doubt we would have that many since I can't see any one female agreeing to carry a dozen children even if a couple of sets of those are twins,” Landon said laughing at that scenario.  
“Beside the only female we're close to that is still in her prime is Michelle and I can't see his brother letting his wife carry our children,” Grey added.  
“No, I can't really see it either,” Howard admitted, “so it's a good thing that we have this option for you.”   
“Yes, it is and you have our deepest appreciation since we weren't sure if we were going to be able to have children of our blood,” Grey said.   
“We had considered adopting and we might have done that if it had been necessary,” Landon added.  
“Let's see you said you wanted a female with blond hair and either green, blue or hazel eyes, so that you have a better chance of one of the babies having gray eyes and I believe we can accommodate you since we have several females with blond hair and either blue or hazel eyes,” Howard said opening the freezer case.  
“No green?” asked Grey curiously.   
Landon explained before Howard could and said, “Green eyes goes mostly with red or black hair, with a few exceptions at least in this part of the world.”  
Howard emerged from the freezer holding several glass vials that Landon assumed had anti-breakage charms on them just in case they were dropped on accident.  
“Here are your choices,” Howard said holding a test tube rack with about half a dozen tubes with stoppers in it.  
“We try to organize our eggs by similarities like blond hair and so forth and then each one goes into a separate test tube even if it's by the same donor.”  
“Your system is very well thought out and organized,” Landon said approvingly.   
“Well, we're not like the muggle labs that tend to get the different eggs mixed up sometimes,” Howard said with a shrug, although he was inwardly pleased.  
“Let's see,” Grey said as he read the descriptions on each of the test tubes. “This one has light blonde hair, blue eyes, is 5'5', and has normal magical ability.”  
“What precisely does that mean?” asked Landon.  
It was Grey that answered before Howard could. “All it means is that the woman that donated the egg magical ability is about average and not much weaker or stronger than what is normal. Every magic user has different strengths when it comes to magical ability some are weaker magically, while others are more powerful than normal.”  
“Alright, thank you for explaining it,” Landon nodded, “as I didn't realize that, although I probably should have as I saw how some kids did really well in class and others didn't.”   
“Well, it's also partly a matter of concentration, focus and learning to use what power you do have,” Howard added. “Magic like anything else takes practice.”  
As the healer had been talking Grey had selected a test tube and carefully took it out of the rack it was in. The two test tubes he had chosen described the woman as having reddish blonde hair like his, was 5'9', had blue eyes with an average magical ability and had weighed 120 pounds at the time the eggs were taken. There was no names among the other details, but then again none of the other test tubes had names either as the donations were all anonymous.  
“These two,” Grey said holding out to test tubes that appeared to have come from the same female or at least the descriptions on the tabs were the same. “The descriptions on these test tubes are exactly the same so I'm assuming they come from the same female.”  
“Yes,” Howard said as he examined to test tubes that Grey was holding. “I filled these out myself as that is my handwriting and I used the exact same wording on purpose to let everybody know that they came from the same woman.”  
“Maybe you should think about using different colored tags or something similar if they come from the same person just to make sure that no mistakes are made,” Landon offered.  
“That is a very good idea,” Howard admitted wondering why he had never thought of it or any of the other healers either or if they had they hadn't implemented it. “Now all we need from you are sperm samples,” he added producing two plastic cups. “I'm sure you to know what these are and the bathroom is just down the hall that way.”  
Both boys groaned but had known this was coming and so complied heading down the hall towards the men's bathroom.  
Both boys returned less than 10 minutes later with full cups as both had been holding their pee for over an hour.  
“Well, that didn't take long,” Howard said pleased that both young man had anticipated what they would need to do.  
“I had to do such things before at my old muggle school when they were testing for drugs among the students when I was 9 and 10 and I warned Grey,” Landon explained.  
“Well, that really concludes our appointment, although you will be getting a letter in about a four months to where it will ask the two of you to come by the hospital and spend at least a little time every day talking to the artificial uterus so that the babies know your voices. It doesn't really matter what you talk about as just the babies hear the sound of your voice and know that you love them. At four months the fetuses are developed enough that they should be a able to understand your tone of voice even if not the words.”  
Grey and Landon nodded and then Grey said shaking the healer's hand, “Thank you so much for doing this for us. You have made both our dreams come true.”   
“You're more than welcome,” Howard assured them with a smile. “It's one of the reasons I became a healer you know and that was to help people.”   
“Well, you're doing a good job,” Landon said also shaking the older man's hand.  
“Thank you, I'll see you again in four months unless there are any problems,” Howard said. “I don't expect any, but there are enough variables in this kind of thing that it's more than possible. Once we get past those first couple of months though those variables of things going wrong will drop to almost nothing.”  
“We understand,” Landon said. “It's still a relatively new technology and so they're are a lot of things that could still go wrong.”   
“Exactly,” Howard agreed.  
“I hope they don't,” Grey said fervently “because I already love these children and they aren't even embryos at this point, much less fetuses.”  
With those words the appointment ended and both young men left had-in-hand leaving Howard to do his job.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So how did it go?” asked Spencer when Landon and Grey came for a visit after calling to make sure they were home.  
“Everything went fine,” Grey said. “It's going to be awhile though before there anything more than embryos.”  
“Both of us had to go through a thorough medical examination just to make sure we were healthy and didn't have any medical problems that we weren't aware of,” Landon added. “That was fairly unpleasant, although using magic does make it faster and less intrusive.”  
Grey made a face and said, “I just hope we don't have to do it again next time we want to have a child and there will be a next time.”  
“But if we have to we will because we do want more children after this,” Landon added and Grey nodded.  
“I sincerely hope that everything goes well because I for one am looking forward to having some grandchildren,” Spencer said, “and to me anyway it doesn't matter how they came about, although I wouldn't tell anyone that their test tubes babies since some people are still rather leery of that kind of thing.”  
“That's the truth,” Hotch said speaking for the first time, “there was a lot of controversy on that particular subject back when you all were young. Even today a lot of people think that a baby that isn't born naturally are the hands of the devil and don't have souls, you know the usual crap.”  
“We'll have to tell the kids how they came about when they're old enough and ask,” said Landon, “as they do deserve to know. Besides it would be obvious that Grey and I couldn't have had children together naturally.”  
“Well, yeah you should tell your kids,” Hotch said, “but other than that and a few very close friends like your brother and his wife you should really keep the information to yourselves unless you want an uproar.”  
“We will,” Grey said and Landon nodded, “some people are going to figure it out though when they meet the both of us and we do live outside a very small town with less then 300 residents so they're going to know too.”  
“But there's a difference between them thinking they know something and having it confirmed,” Spencer said and both boys nodded in agreement.  
“So have you been shopping yet for baby things?” asked Hotch.   
“No,” Landon said with a shake of his head, “and we don't plan on doing that until we're sure that this is going to work. Maybe when we get past the four months stage we can do some shopping for all the things that babies need. It's way too early to even think about that kind of thing.”   
“The reason I brought it up is that I still have a lot of Jack's old things from when he was a baby and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I passed them onto you.”  
“I still have a lot of yours and your brother's things to and I would be happy to give them to you for the new babies,” Spencer offered.  
“Thanks dad, Uncle Aaron, that will at least save us from having to buy so many clothes for the baby.”   
“And also burp cloths, high chairs, baby blankets, cribs and several other items,” Spencer listed the items he knew he had in storage off on his fingers. “I believe I even have a double stroller up in the attic somewhere, although you might want to buy one of those new ones.”  
“We can continue this discussion over dinner as I'm sure Sara will be calling us any minute,” Hotch said looking at his watch.   
“Why don't you to go clean up in the upstairs bathroom and Spencer and I will do the same in the one down here.”  
“Alright,” Landon agreed. “That's another reason to come home if you ask me and that is to enjoy Sara's cooking again.”   
“She did teach you how to cook,” Spencer pointed out with a smile.  
“Yes, that's true, but we're not half as good at it is she is,” said Grey.  
“So come back and take a few more lessons,” Hotch suggested. “I'm sure she can teach you all her recipes and also give you a copy of each.”  
“Probably,” Landon agreed. “We'll see if we can squeeze in time to do that.”  
“What we need is a house-elf,” Grey said. “Someone to look after the children, cook and clean while we work.”  
“Do they even have house-elves in America?” asked Hotch curiously.   
“I'm not sure,” Landon admitted. “I guess I could ask Healer Keyes next time we see him as he would know.”  
“I'll be very surprised if they don't as I can't see all the rich wizarding folks of America doing their own cooking and cleaning, although I suppose they could've hired servants, but I would think since you would have to pay them that they would prefer house-elves.”  
“I wonder if we could hire a cook and also somebody look after the children, someone that is part of the magical community, like a squib.”  
“We don't need a cook,” Landon protested, “as we're pretty good at it and we can always get meals here when we want some good home cooking, but someone to look after the children yes we do need someone for that.”  
The conversation stopped there for the moment as everybody rose to go wash their hands as they all knew that Sara would be calling them for dinner at any minute.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Five months later

“Landon we need to start thinking about baby names,” Grey said. The two of them were laying on the couch that was in the den, or technically Grey was laying stretched out with his back against the arm and Landon was laying in between his lover's legs with his back against Grey's chest and his head up under his chin.  
Both were extremely comfortable and were just reveling at being together and also totally naked so that they could keep that skin to skin contact. You might think it was weird to see two totally naked men, but they did live outside of town, far enough away they they didn't have many visitors and there were no windows in the den so it wasn't like there was even a slight chance that they were going to be seen, so they might as well do what they wanted to and that was to be naked like this as often as possible. Even if it got cold all they had to do was put up heating spells in every room that they used regularly and when it got hot a cooling spell would do. They did have electricity and had electric lights, TV, and other things that ran on an electric current and they even had central heating and air conditioner, but they hardly ever used them unless it was really cold or hot and their spells weren't enough to keep them from getting hot or cold. He and Landon had finally created a spell that would shield any electronics from their magic so they could have the best of both worlds and Grey did not miss the gaslights that he'd lived with at his parents home until he had been disowned one bit.  
Electric lights were cleaner, brighter, and you didn't have to worry about the price of kerosene, which could get ultraexpensive after awhile.  
“Yes, I suppose we do,” Landon agreed. “The twins are past the danger stage now and should be born in just another four months according to Healer Keyes. So have you been thinking of the names you would like to use?”   
“I have,” Grey admitted. “I want something that's unusual that not thousands of other people have, but also one that isn't too uncommon.”  
“Yes, I want something relatively unusual too,” Landon agreed. “A name like mine on my brother's as neither one of our names is very common, but then our dad as much as he's read would never have named us something like Richard or Tom as those names are way to normal and thousands of other men and boys have them. No, dad would've always picked unusual names for any of his children as really he's a man out of his time. In other words someone that should have been born in the 1920's or 30's when there wasn't as much technology.”   
“Neither is Greyson, at least as a first name,” Grey said.  
“So what names have you thought of?” asked Landon.  
“Well, I thought names like Galileo, you know like the Italian astronomer or York, with an E on the end or Orion,” Grey said.  
“Those are both unusual names anything else?” asked Landon.  
“I was thinking of Shelby if it was a girl,” Grey answered. “I know it can be used as a boy's name, but I can't quite imagine calling my son that.”  
“Yeah, it sounds like a girls name to me too,” Landon agreed, “although I do like it for a girl.”  
“Well, I was also thinking maybe Egil,” Grey said, “it means edge of a sword. Also Vaughn and Flynn.”  
“What about female names just in case we do have a girl,” Landon asked.  
“Well I kind a like Ilsa,” Grey admitted. “It's nice simple and I think it's very pretty.”  
“It is,” Landon agreed not objecting to any of the names that Grey had picked out so far. It was clear that his lover had put a lot of thought into the names for their children just as he had.  
“I also like Aurelia, Arianna, or Nichole, with and H after the C.”  
“All good choices,” Landon admitted.   
“What about you?” asked Grey. “What names have you thought of?”  
“Well, I only picked one boy's name for the first name,” Landon said firmly, “and that's what I'm going to name a son if I happen to have one that looks like me.”  
“What is it?” asked Grey curiously not knowing why Landon felt so strongly about what the first name of his son should be.  
“Edwin,” Landon said quite clearly.   
“Why that name?” asked Grey curiously.   
“Well, I never told you this, but the name of the Potters son that started our family line when he moved to America was named that. He was a squib you see and me and Lochlan have been the first children born into his line that have the magic. He lived over 300 years ago and I decided awhile back that if I had a son that was going to be his first name in honor of my ancestor.”  
“That's fine with me,” Grey said. “I didn't know that your ancestor was named Edwin or that he was the person that started your whole family line here in America. I knew you were related to Harry Potter very distantly, but not the how you were related.”  
“Well, now you do,” Landon said with a smile relieved that Grey hadn't commented on the name. Landon had to admit that Edwin was not as common as Edward, but it was still a pretty common name compared to the others that had been picked so far.  
“So what about a middle name?” asked Grey.   
“I haven't decided,” Landon admitted. “I have several that I like, but I haven't picked the one that I want to go with the first name yet.”  
“Well what ones have you picked?” asked Grey.  
“Well, I like Lancaster, ” Landon admitted. “I know it's mainly used as a last name, just like your own, but it has been used as a first name as well and it isn't at all common. “I also like Lance, although I will not name a baby Lancelot as that would just be asking for him to be picked on and teased and not in a good way.”  
“True,” Grey said. “I was often picked on for my name since it's so unusual. Besides whatever names we don't use this time we can always use when we have another child you know so just keep that in mind for the future.”   
“Lochlan and I were picked on to,” Landon admitted. “By the way I like your suggestion and I will keep those names in mind for when we have another child three or four years down the road.”  
“So what about girls names?” asked Grey.  
“I like Mallory, which can be used either as a girls or boys name or Aubrey, which can also be used the same way.”  
“I might name my son Mallory, but never Aubrey as that sounds like a girl's name,” Grey commented and Landon nodded in agreement.  
“It can be used either way, but I agree,” Landon said. “I also like Clio you know like the muse, also Trina and Katrina.”   
“Those are good names too,” Grey said. “Just like Ilsa, Clio is short simple and you can't make any stupid nicknames out of it. So why did you pick Katrina instead of Catherine or Cate?”  
“Because both those names are way to common,” Landon explained, “and while Katrina means the same thing and it isn't nearly as common as the normal spelling. It's is just a different language is all. Of course our daughter can shorten it to Kate or Trina when she gets older, but I always plan on calling her Katrina because I really like that name. My brother and me didn't become known as Loch and Lan until after we had met Uncle Harry's son Art as he almost immediately shortened our names when we had always been called by our full names before.”  
“I known you what, 4 years?” asked Grey. “And I didn't know that.”   
“Sorry,” Landon said with a shrug of his shoulders, “it just never came up.”  
“So your father and your uncle always called you by your full first names until Art shortened them?”   
“That's right,” Landon said. “Lochlan and I didn't really mind to tell you the truth as it was just easier for most kids to pronounce the shortened versions of our names. We were picked on a lot in primary school just because our names were so unusual.”  
“So what's your middle name and Loch's too?” asked Grey.  
“I never told you my middle name?” asked Landon in surprise.   
“No and I've always wondered why and I never thought to ask until you brought the subject up just now about why your names were shortened,” Grey admitted.  
“Our middle names are pretty unusual to, although Loch and me don't hate them or anything,” Landon said. “My middle name is Darius and Lochlan's is Cyrus.”  
“Wow! Those are pretty unusual names.”  
“Yes, well, dad never was one for common names,” Landon said, smiling wryly. “Lochlan and I were just lucky that he didn't name us something that was truly awful, that would have gotten us teased even more then we were. Of course we didn't let many people know our middle names since our first names were unusual enough. Actually I wouldn't mind naming a son with my middle name.”  
“Why such unusual names?” asked Grey.   
“I think our name's were born out of the fact that dad was bullied when he was in school, simply because he was much more intelligent then the other children and also much younger. He graduated high school at the age of 12 and went to college the same year.”  
Grey blinked at that startled, although he shouldn't have been for he had known this even if it was still hard to believe, but didn't interrupt.  
“Our dad is very intelligent as you know, but what you might not know is that he reads much more then most people simply because he likes to learn obscure facts. Uncle Aaron is gone so much that he has plenty of time to do that and since he has total recall he never forgets anything. Oh, he can be distracted to where he won't think of something, but he never actually forgets it.”  
“In any case, he was bullied by a lot of people who had very common names, you know what I mean Tom, Dick, Alex, Donna, Susan and the like. I think he decided then that if he ever did have children he wouldn't name them anything that a thousand or more people have.”  
“I don't blame him,” Grey said fervently. “So your dad graduated high school at 12? Wow! I knew he was smart, but not that smart.”  
“He did,” Landon agreed smiling at the impressed tone in Grey's voice. “He aced every academic test put in front of him inside an hour, usually much less, but you know this.”  
“I do, but I still find it hard to believe,” said Grey. “Oh I'm not doubting you. It's just that I've never known anyone so intelligent as Uncle Spencer is.”  
“Not many people have his high IQ and the ones that do are usually arrogant and full of themselves. Not many have his compassion, his love, his kindness, or his large heart, although not many people see that, because they don't take the time to get to know him. In fact it isn't well known, but he wanted to join the FBI, Uncle Aaron's unit specifically, but once we were born he decided it was to dangerous and he didn't want to risk getting killed since he was our only family, except for our grandmother who is in an institution and can't even take care of herself, much less us.”  
Landon didn't bother to mention his grandfather William Reid, since he had never met the man and from what his father had told him and his brother he never wanted too either.  
“I can understand why Uncle Spencer was picked on as he must have been at least 4 to 5 years younger then the other kids in order to graduate at such a young age,” Grey said.  
“He was,” Landon confirmed, “but even if he had been the same age he probably still would have been picked on simply because he often comes off as a know-it-all, even if he doesn't mean to and kids can be cruel as they don't like being shown up by someone they consider a snotnosed kid that doesn't even deserve to be there. Even if he didn't intend to come off like he knew it all he did. You know it's just as well that he didn't join the BAU.”  
“Why?” asked Grey surprised at Landon's last comment.   
“Because there is a no fraternization rule put in place for people who work for the same unit as was explained on the train ride home several years ago,” Landon explained. “If Uncle Aaron and dad had worked together there's no way they could have had a relationship at least not openly like they do. They would have had to keep it quiet because if the higher-ups found out about it they would both be fired or one of them would be transferred at the very least.”  
“Oh, I see,” Grey said finally understanding why Landon had said what he had.  
“Now that we have discussed baby names I think that we have better things to do,” Landon suggested with a smile as he looked up and down Grey's body with lust in his eyes, which made his lover's cock immediately stand at attention.  
“Let's go,” Grey said excitedly immediately disappearing with a pop Apparating instead of walking up the stairs.   
Landon laughed and followed him also disappearing with a soft pop.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

9 months later

Grey and Landon arrived at Alchemia's hospital trying to hide their excitement, for today was the day they were to pick up their children. One thing that was unusual, well, besides the fact that the babies had been grown in a artificial uterus was the fact that it was exactly 40 weeks since they'd had that first healer appointment and normally twins were born at around 32 to 36 weeks. 40 weeks was exactly 9 months and if some female had been carrying the twins they would have likely been born early, but in this case it was a good thing as that meant that they would fully formed and that there should be no problems with their lungs or any other part of the body that sometimes a baby born to early had. Grey and Landon had both spent at least a couple of hours every day just sitting in chairs by the artificial womb talking to their children that they would soon get a chance to meet.  
“Today is the day,” Landon said softly as they got onto the elevator and headed to the fifth floor to meet Healer Keyes for their appointment.  
“Yes, it is. Today we will finally get to meet our children,” Grey said just as excited.  
The two men fell silent and it was only a minute later that the elevator arrived at their floor and the doors dinged and opened so that they could step out.  
“You know I never thought that something like an artificial uterus could actually exist,” Landon said quietly as he and Grey walked towards Howard's office. “It's just a theoretical concept in the muggle world as it has never been perfected. That the wizards in America have actually perfected it so that it actually works to me is just amazing, even if I know that magic can do many wondrous things, things that muggles can only dream about.”  
“I think I know what you mean,” Grey said who knew much more about the muggle world then he had at 17 for he and Landon had gone out and seen the sites and Landon had bought him books on every subject imaginable. They had been to movies, seen some of the historical sites around the Virginia area as well as several other sites in other cities in the last four years. Of course they both still had jobs and had to work, but that didn't mean they couldn't still have fun and they did have the weekends to do things. Landon had indeed set up his own shop in one of the magical shopping malls in Virginia, although they were all over America mostly underground. Over the last few years Landon had indeed figured out how to put runes onto the correct parts of TVs and computers and other electronics so that they worked with magic and didn't need to be plugged in. Of course it was also a lot of work for you had to disassemble the electronics and then put runes in the appropriate places before putting it all back together again, but Landon was quite good at it now and had made a fortune as everyone wanted them for their homes. Landon had made sure before he had even gotten started that there was no law against what he was doing as he didn't want to find himself arrested.  
The two men fell silent and it wasn't long before they reached Howard's office and gently knocked on the door.   
“Come in, come in,” Howard called knowing exactly who was outside his office door. Landon and Grey entered Howard's office and sat down in two chairs in front of his desk without being asked to do so for the three of them had become quite good friends over the last nine months as the people of America were mostly not as formal or stuffy as they were in England. “You're right on time as usual,” Howard said glancing at the small clock that was hanging on his office wall.  
“How could we not be on time?” asked Grey the excitement in his voice barely suppressed. “We would have been here at dawn if we could've been. Neither one of us hardly slept at all last night.”  
“I can certainly understand that,” Howard said with a smile at the two young men that he had grown quite fond of in the last nine months. “In any case since you're ready if you'll follow me I'll take you to the nursery as your son and daughter were just taken out of the artificial uterus early this morning.”  
“A boy and a girl?” asked Landon with excitement in his voice. “How are they? Who do they look like? Is their health okay? Or do they need to stay in the hospital for awhile?”   
“Whoah slow down,” Howard urged gently. “Both your son and daughter are fine and in fact they weigh much more than normal twins simply because they got their nutrients through the tubing of the artificial uterus. Twins don't normally weigh more than 5 pounds apiece tops when they're born and usually much less as a human woman can only eat so much at one time and not feel stuffed. In fact both weigh over 8 pounds which is excellent for twins and will mean fewer if any medical problems. Some twins do have more medical problems after they are born simply because they are born way underweight.”  
Howard led the way to the nursery that was on the same floor, but down several hallways and kept Grey and Landon talking the whole time as their excitement was almost palpable, not that Howard could blame them.  
“Here we are,” Howard said leading them to the window of the nursery and pointing out two bassinets with two totally different looking babies in them. The nurse that was in the nursery at that time pushed the two bassinets forward when she saw where they were looking and Grey and Landon saw their son and daughter for the first time.  
“They're beautiful,” Landon said and Grey immediately agreed. Their daughter had Landon's black hair and brown eyes, which wasn't surprising considering that black was almost always dominate, so when somebody had that color hair and eyes they were dominant over blue unless Landon had the genetic code for blue eyes within just a few generations and even then they probably still would have turned out brown as it was also dominate just like black. The girl also had a very pert shape to her nose that definitely must've come from the donated female egg and also the shape of her eyes as they were tilted slightly upwards. Her hands were tiny and the fingers curled and flexed several times in an automatic action. Both Grey and Landon could have stood there and watched her for hours as she had immediately stolen their hearts.  
The boy when they turned to look at him you could tell he was going to have blond hair which wasn't surprising considering that both the donor and Grey had that color and his eyes looked more blue then gray at at the moment, although they weren't completely either color.  
“So what are you going to name them?” asked Howard speaking for the first time in about 10 minutes and startling both Landon and Grey as they had forgotten he was there.  
“Well, we both picked out names months ago four boys names and four girls name just in case we had two boys or two girls, but since we have one of each I think I'll name my daughter Mallory Aubrey Reid-Owens.”  
“That's beautiful,” said Howard.   
“Thank you, it's two of the names Grey and I picked out in case we had two girls.”  
“And what are you going to name your son?” asked Howard.  
“Well, I wanted something that wasn't too common like my name,” Grey said. “My full name is Greyson, although I always go by Grey, so I thought something unusual and decided on Cyrill Stanley Reid-Owens.”  
“That's a nice name too,” Howard complimented Grey who grinned up at him his gray eyes sparkling in the low lights of the hospital.  
“Thanks, I wanted something that wasn't to common and being used by a thousand other people,” Grey answered. “So do you think Cyrill is going to have my eye color when he gets a little older or are they going to stay blue?”  
“It's hard to say, but it is my medical opinion that they will more than likely turn gray by a year in age,” Howard answered. “They're already a blueish gray anyway, so they could either darken to blue or lighten to gray, but I believe they will eventually turn into your eye color.”  
“Good,” Grey said with an ecstatic grin. “I'll be very happy if you're right.”  
“So when can we take them home?” asked Landon.   
“As soon as you fill out the appropriate paperwork,” Howard responded. “Birth certificates and the like.”  
“Well, why don't we go do that so we can take our children home,” Grey said.  
“And we need to invite dad, Uncle Aaron and Sara over for dinner so they can see their new grandchildren,” Landon added with a grin. “You know they will be thrilled since they were very happy when we told them that we were ready to give them more grandchildren, since before this only Lochlan and Michelle had a child.”  
“We'll do that, although it's going to be hard to set up a time since Uncle Aaron is always gone for his job so much,” Grey said.  
“He should be up to do dinner sometime in the next couple of weeks,” Landon said. “He's called away a lot it's true, but sometimes he's home for a week or two at a time and only goes in to do the paperwork and things like that.”  
“Why don't you two go in and hold your son and daughter, although you're going to have to put on the sterilized clothes first,” Howard suggested, “and while you're doing that I'll go and gather the paperwork that you need to sign.”  
“Alright,” Grey and Landon agreed immediately and quite eagerly for both had been dying to hold their children in there arms if only for a few minutes.  
Howard showed them what to do and it wasn't long before both entered the nursery where all the newborn babies were kept for various reasons.  
It was only a minute or two after that that they both sat down in a pair of rockers that was side-by-side holding their children tenderly in their arms and feeding them their bottles for the very first time feeling as if they owned the world.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“I'm sorry you didn't have a son that you could name after your ancestor,” Grey told Landon as soon as they had put the twins down for the night.   
Both Grey and Landon knew that they would have to be getting up several times doing the night in order to feed and change the twins, which is why they planned on hiring a squib to be housekeeper and babysitter. A squib would know about magic, even if they couldn't do it themselves and so they wouldn't have to try to hide anything from them.  
“It's okay,” Landon said, although he really was disappointed, “maybe I'll have a son next time we have a child, although I think we should have only one baby next time maybe from my sperm and then the time after that we could do yours.”  
“You know I never thought about it, but people are going to wonder why we are having so many children even if they know we did it by IVF they are going to wonder where we're getting the money for it.”  
“People can wonder all they like,” Landon said calmly with a shrug, “and even if they suspect we came by it dishonestly, which we didn't there's no way they can prove that because there is nothing to prove. So we have a lot of money, so what? Most people just don't know that we do because we don't flaunt it like some rich people do.”  
“Or act like you deserve special privileges just because you're rich,” Grey said and Landon nodded in agreement.   
“All we want is to live quietly and raise our family in peace. Whether the people are curious or not where we're getting the money from it's really none of their business,” said Landon.  
“Some will probably stick their noses in anyway,” Grey said, “whether it's any of their business or not.”   
“Yeah, they will and we'll just tell them to butt out,” Landon suggested with a smirk. “Besides once I tell them that my father is Dr. Spencer Reid they'll look him up on the internet and learn that he wrote a lot of computer programs that made him his fortune and is now a novelist so that will explain where our money has come from.”  
“They'll more than likely leave us alone after that except to question why we're having so many children through the IVF treatments,” Grey said.   
“Probably,” Landon agreed, “but again it's no ones business, but ours. So what if we want to have a dozen children? That is our decision and it isn't like we don't have the money to take care of them properly. They will have everything that they should have to make sure they grow up to be good young men and women, who know how to work for a living, although they will not be spoiled like some parents do. In fact we'll raise them in the same way that my dad and Uncle Aaron raised me and my brothers and that is with love and discipline.”  
“Not to mention they will grow up outside a small town so that they won't be vulnerable to such bad influences like drugs,” Grey said.   
“Which is another reason that I wanted to move to a small town,” Landon added. “I wanted to move somewhere where the people were friendly, didn't mind same-sex couples, but didn't stick their noses in where they didn't belong at least for the most part as every small town has at least one person who doesn't know how to mind their own business.”  
“And we both got what we wanted,” Grey said.  
“Yes, we did,” Landon said.   
“You know living in a small town would be a pain if we had to drive everywhere, but since we can Apparate most places or Floo...” Grey said.  
“Yes, thanks to the fact that we have other means of transportation it's not an inconvenience, which is yet another reason I wanted to move to a small town,” Landon agreed.  
“We had better head to bed and get some sleep as the twins will be up in just a couple of hours,” Grey suggested and Landon nodded.   
“That's a good idea, we had better sleep while we can since I know that we won't get much until they are at least a year old,” Landon said immediately heading upstairs Grey following.  
“We're looking forward to every minute of it though, aren't we?” asked Grey already knowing the answer.   
“Even if we will wish that they would just sleep through the night so that we could get some rest, before they finally do,” Landon agreed, “but yes, we will enjoy every minute of it as both of us wanted a family.”  
“And now we have one,” Grey said as two young men entered their bedroom getting undressed quickly and falling into bed.  
“We do and it will only continue to grow over the years,” Landon said.  
It didn't take long at all after that the both of them to fall asleep cuddled in each other's embrace.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

A little more then two hours later the cry of a baby was heard and it was soon followed by the other one. Grey and Landon groaned, but both got up, not bothering to pull on any clothes since they were the only other ones in the house.  
The two young men entered the room that they had turned into a nursery over the last few months and both picked up one of the twins rubbing their backs soothingly.  
“Mallory is wet,” Grey said checking her diaper.  
“So is Cyrill,” Landon answered as he too checked the little boy's diaper.  
“Alright then,” Grey said as he took Mallory over to one of the changing tables that had been set up while Landon took Cyrill over to the other one.  
The room that the twins had been placed in had been set up for the both of them until they got a little older, so there was two changing tables, two cribs and two rockers.  
“I'll go fix a couple of bottles,” Grey said as soon as he had finished changing Mallory and had placed her back in her crib. Mallory was still whimpering looking ready to start crying again and Grey figured the sooner he got her fed the sooner she would drift off to sleep again. Grey was rather surprised that all Mallory was doing was whimpering and that she wasn't actually crying loud enough to wake the dead, although their son was still crying his little heart out.  
“Why do I have a feeling that Cyrill is going to be temperamental?” Landon asked Grey conversationally, even as he stroked the top of his son's head gently.   
“Because he sure knows how to grab our attention?” Grey suggested with a tired smile.  
“He sure does,” Landon agreed even as he picked up his son and held him close to him after he had finished changing the little boy's diaper. “You had better go fix those bottles ASAP.”  
“Right,” Grey agreed and instead of walking down the stairs he disappeared with a small pop.  
“Show off,” Landon muttered affectionately even as tried to get Cyrill to stop crying as if the world was coming to an end.  
Grey returned less then five minutes later holding two warm bottles of milk and handed one to Landon who immediately offered it to his son. Cyrill instantly snapped onto the bottle and begun sucking like he was going to starve to death if he didn't get some substance soon.  
“Well, our son sure does have an appetite, doesn't he?” asked Grey chuckling as he watched the way Cyrill was sucking on the bottle so hungrily, while he was also feeding Mallory who also appeared to have a good appetite.  
“So does Mallory,” Landon said as he leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead, even as he held the bottle at an angle so that Cyrill would have no problem getting the liquid substance within.  
Both men sat down in the two rocking chairs and continued to feed their son and daughter as they talked quietly.  
It didn't take long at all for both children to drain their bottles completely and when they did the two men got to the feet and then gently rubbed the babies backs in order to get them to burp into the cloths that each had on their shoulders.  
Both twins let out loud burps and Grey and Landon looked at each other and snickered.  
“There, there, little man,” Landon gently soothed his infant son.  
Cyrill yawned his eyelids already at half mast, so it didn't take more then another minute before he dropped off to sleep again, although it was clear that he was struggling to stay awake, but now that he was changed and fed he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Cyrill snuggled into Landon's arms seemingly content to just be held as he drifted off into dreamland.  
Grey and Landon put the twins back in their separate cribs and then quietly left the room to go and get a few more hours sleep before their children woke them again in order to be fed and changed.  
Both men entered their bedroom that was right next door to the nursery and curled up on their king sized bed together pulling the covers up over themselves and drifting into slumber mere minutes later, curled up into each other's arms warm and content to just hold each other.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Oh, aren't they adorable,” Sara cooed as she immediately picked up Cyrill. Of course Sara said this every time she saw them, which was several times a week.  
Spencer, Hotch and Sara had arrived by Floo, which had been hooked up between the two houses as soon as Landon's and Grey's house in Castleford was complete. The American magical community was a lot less fearful of muggles in general and since Spencer was Landon's father and Grey's father-in-law it wasn't against the law to have a Floo connection put in their house, especially since Hotch was related to them through marriage.  
“They are,” Spencer agreed immediately making goo goo eyes at his son's daughter, his granddaughter. “I have to say that Mallory here looks a lot like Landon and Lochlan when they were born with a few obvious differences like the nose and also the fact that she's a girl and not a boy.”  
“Well, that's not really surprising, dad,” Landon said grinning at his father so happy that he almost literally glowed.  
“Well, no, I guess it's not,” Spencer said returning his son's grin.  
“So when are you planning to have another one?” asked Hotch curiously.   
“Not for at least a couple of years, Uncle Aaron,” Grey told the other man. “We'd like to get these two past the baby stage at least, before we consider having another one.”  
“That's smart,” Hotch said even as he tried to conceal his longing, because he wanted to hold one of the children and neither Spencer or Sara looked like they were going to give them up anytime soon.  
“Hey, give Uncle Aaron a chance to hold them,” Landon suggested when neither Sara nor Spencer looked like they were about to give up their tiny, delicate bundles anytime in the near future.   
“All three of you will have plenty of chances to hold our children since we plan on visiting you frequently and also asking you to visit us here,” Grey added.  
“All three of you will be part of our son's and daughter's lives,” Landon added. “You are their family just like we are.”  
Sara, reluctantly released the tiny bundle and handed him over to Hotch who took the baby boy gently.  
“Hey there,” Hotch told the little boy softly kissing him on the forehead, “I'm your Uncle Aaron and I'll teach you everything I know.”  
Cyrill yawned seeming unimpressed, although he did wave his tiny hands and hit Hotch in the nose causing everybody in the room to laugh, including Hotch himself.  
“Why don't we go in to dinner and let these two sleep,” Landon suggested as he took his daughter from his father's arms and gently put her back in her crib, covering her with the baby blanket that was in there, kissing her on her tiny forehead.  
“You know looking at Cyrill now it reminds me of when Jack was this small,” Hotch said, sounding wistful as he stared at the baby boy that had been placed back in the other crib and also covered with a baby blanket. “Jack's all grown up now, although hopefully in a few years he'll make me a grandfather.”  
“You can come and visit anytime you want, Uncle Aaron,” Landon told Hotch, “and that goes for all of you.”   
“Thanks, I'll try my best to visit often and this is certainly closer then going to England to visit my godchild.”  
“But we still do that as often as we can,” Spencer said grinning at his lover.   
“Yes, we do,” Hotch agreed also with a smile. “Even if it's just for a few hours.”  
“It's hard to believe that Fabian and Gideon will be starting Hogwarts next year,” Spencer said. “Where has the time gone? It seems to have passed way too fast.”  
The five of them trooped downstairs and sat at the table where dinner was already set up with warming or cooling charms on everything.  
“So you mentioned on one of your previous visits that you were looking to hire a squib to help look after the twins,” Hotch said with a raised eyebrow the question obvious.   
“We have,” Grey answered, “although we haven't found anybody that we're satisfied with so far. The three women and one man we've taken out to lunch in the last month either disapprove of us as a couple since we're both men, are no good with children or the twins made a fuss whenever they tried to pick them up.”  
“You're wise to not hire anybody that the twins don't trust,” Spencer said approvingly. “I read somewhere that babies have kind of a sixth sense when it comes to people and they have it from the minute they are born. A baby has a way of knowing when they can trust someone and often reacts if they're in the same room as say their mother or father and they are displaying negative emotions like frustration or anxiety by crying or becoming jittery and jumpy. This is the way that babies communicate since their speech doesn't develop until later. Most children lose this as they get older simply because the adults in their life tell them to stay silent and listen or if they can't see, hear or touch something then it cannot possibly be real. The world is geared towards the logical and children who keep that sixth sense into adulthood are often misunderstood, but turn into some of our greatest scientists, authors, inventors and many others. Actually a child's sixth sense never really vanishes, but because they are told that what they sense cannot possibly exist, most children ignore their other sense after being told often enough by adults that what they are sensing is not real.”  
The other four people at the table listened in fascination, even though they knew that Spencer was a fount of information on almost any subject. Spencer continued, “The one exception to this is twins and it has been well documented that they keep their sixth sense all their lives. Landon didn't you tell us that you could sense that you brother was ecstatic about something about the time Lochlan discovered that Michelle was pregnant and yet at first you didn't know why you were feeling what you were?”  
“I was,” Landon realized. “Lochlan and I have always known what the other was feeling and thinking, but I didn't realize at that time that our connection would work from so far away as he and Michelle live in England after all not close by.”  
“You see, that proves my point,” Spencer said triumphantly.  
“Wow, Uncle Spencer, you sure do know a lot,” Grey said impressed. He had known Landon and Lochlan's father since he was 13 and yet he was still always amazed at the information that Spencer had in his head. The other's had known Spencer much longer and so weren't as amazed as Grey always was, although they were of course always impressed at the subjects he knew about, as they seemed endless.   
“He knows a lot about almost everything,” Hotch told Grey grinning at his mate, leaning over and kissing his cheek and also ruffling his hair, which Spencer accepted with embarrassed pleasure. In fact Hotch was the only one that was allowed to ruffle his hair without him ducking out of the way or protesting. The fact was that Hotch was allowed to do almost anything he wanted to his mate and Spencer never raised a protest like he would with anybody else if they did something he didn't like. “Whenever he helps us on a case we often introduce him as Dr. Spencer Reid our expert on everything.”  
Spencer blushed at the indirect compliment.  
“So when is your next lunch meeting with your prospective employee?” asked Sara.  
“Not for another couple of weeks,” Landon answered.  
“You'll find someone,” Spencer predicted. “I went through at least a dozen prospective housekeepers before I hired Sara.”  
“And why didn't any of those other housekeepers work out?” asked Grey curiously who hadn't heard this story before.  
“Well, I needed someone to help look after Landon and his brother as they were still babies,” Spencer explained to Grey. “Looking after one baby is hard enough, but two is nearly impossible, especially when you are single parent and you don't have any other family that can help. I guarantee you I didn't get much sleep those first few months. I contacted a temporary housekeeping agency that has people that they send to clean your house and such. I needed someone to not only do that, but cook and help look after the twins as well and every women before Sara was not only not any good at cooking or cleaning, but they didn't know a damn thing about children or what they needed. I mean they didn't even know how to change a dirty diaper for god's sakes and were unwilling to learn. It was immediately clear to me that the only thing these women wanted was to get me to marry them, because they either knew about my money beforehand or learned about it while they were working for me. Every single one of them was set on getting me to marry them so they would never have to work another day in their lazy lives.”  
“So you obviously didn't fall for their charms?” asked Grey questioningly.   
“Charms, ha!” Spencer exclaimed sounding unusually sarcastic. “No, I was never fooled by them not even in the very beginning, since not a single one of them was very subtle. None of them lasted more than a month and most of them only lasted a couple of weeks at most. The twins were six months old before Sara showed up from the temporary agency looking for job and we got along right away. It was clear that she knew how to cook, clean and look after the children since she had several of them that were already all grown up and out on their own. I gave it a month just to be sure, but after that I hired her permanently and she's been a member of the family ever since. I couldn't do without her now and she knows it. She helped raise the twins as I said from the time they were six months old and she's like a grandmother to them and also to me and Aaron.”  
The older lady blushed prettily and said, “Oh, stop with the flattery.”   
“How can it be flattery when it's absolute truth? We all love you and you know it,” asked Landon as he got up from his chair and went to kiss Sara on the cheek. “I hope Grey and I find someone even half as wonderful as you are to help us look after the twins.”  
“In the meantime I'll be a willing babysitter just like I offered before,” Sara offered changing the subject. “I helped raise you, didn't I?”  
“My offer to babysit still stands too,” Spencer added. “I already love them so much and they're only a month old.”  
“Well, this just proves that they have you wrapped around their little finger,” Hotch teased his lover.   
“And they don't have you that way?” asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow already knowing the answer without Hotch even having to verbalize it.  
“Alright, so they have us both wrapped around their little fingers too,” Hotch admitted and Spencer nodded with a satisfied smile.  
“Thanks for the offer,” Landon said gratefully, “that will help a lot until we can find someone permanent.”  
“Which I hope is soon since we haven't been getting much sleep,” Grey said running a hand through his hair tiredly. “I love them to death, but you're right twins are a lot of work and we have to get up several times in the middle of the night to feed them and change them and everything else.”  
“Once you get to a year old it will start getting easier,” Hotch told them.   
“The question is will we reach that milestone still sane?” Grey half joked with a tired grin.  
“Well, look at it this way,” Sara suggested with a kind smile, “looking after twins is about as hard as it gets and once you decide to have more you'll find looking after just one baby a breeze after looking after two.”  
“You're probably right about that,” Grey said and Landon nodded in agreement. “We don't plan on having anymore for at least two, maybe three years so it won't be any time soon.”  
“And if we have more than 4 or 5 we'll have to build on,” Landon added, “but since we bought ten acres of land we have plenty of room to expand when we need to.”  
“We're not going to have to worry about doing that for a few years anyway,” Grey said.  
Dinner ended on a pleasant note with a chocolate cake for dessert and all the older adults complimented Landon and Grey on their cooking skills before stepping into the Floo and headed home for the night, each making sure that they gave the twins kisses on the forehead before leaving.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Landon and Grey, age 23

“Lan, don't you think it's time we considered having another child?” Grey asked his lover as the two lay in bed cuddled closely together. “The twins are two now and by the time this one is born they'll be three.”  
“Yes, I believe it is time,” Landon agreed. “The twins are still a lot of work, but with Holly, Sara, Uncle Aaron and dad helping out....”  
“...It's not as much work as it could be,” Grey said finishing his mate's thought.   
“Yes,” Landon agreed. “Holly really is wonderful with the children and we'll have to thank Howard next time we see him.”  
“Yes, I love Holly to,” Grey agreed. “She reminds me a lot of Sara actually even though she's at least four decades younger and one thing I like about her is that she isn't interested in either one of us in a sexual way.”  
“Yes, she is definitely an improvement over the other applicants that tried out for the position,” Landon said shuddering as he remembered how much trouble they had had finding someone to help them look after the twins. “I mean even putting in American wizarding paper that we needed someone with experience at looking after children brought out all the wackos that didn't have any experience at all.”  
“Or tried to come onto one of us,” Grey added.  
“Or both,” Landon said by way of agreement.  
“You know once we realized that Holly had never had a children of her own we weren't sure she was going to work out, but I'm so glad we were wrong,” Grey said, “and even gladder that Howard recommend her.”  
“Yep, we sure did know within the first couple of weeks that she was just what we wanted, didn't we?” Landon commented as he remembered how the twins had taken to Holly right away.  
“Yep, she was wonderful with them from the first,” Grey agreed. “Remember how it turned out she had done a lot of babysitting for Howard and his wife as well as several other members of her family?”  
“Yeah, and I feel kind of sorry for them, snatching her from her family as a babysitter, but not bad enough not to do it,” Landon chuckled.  
“Yep, we needed her more than they did,” Grey added chuckling as well. “They ought to be happy that Holly has a place where she is wanted and treated well instead of depending on her family for her livelihood as you know what most of the wizarding world thinks about squibs, although I admit in America it's not as bad as it is in England.”  
“So setting up an appointment with Howard next week okay with you?” asked Landon and Grey nodded.   
“That will be fine,” Grey said. “I can hardly wait and I'm sure Howard won't be surprised that we're ready for another as we did tell him we wanted a dozen children.”  
“Dad, Sara, and Uncle Aaron won't be either,” Landon said.  
“Who nowadays has a dozen children?” asked Grey   
“Well, Uncle Harry and Ginny did come close,” Landon said, “as they do have eight.”  
“Yes that's true, I'm surprised that Aunt Ginny was willing to go through getting pregnant and given birth that many times, as I've heard it's quite painful, even if one time she had twins and another triplets as still that would've been five times.”  
“From what I know some women just take to a pregnancy easily and also give birth just as easily, which is why they have so many children,” Landon said, “while others have trouble. Actually did you know that up until about the earlier twentieth century women gave birth to as many babies as they could because a lot of them died from various diseases that have since been eradicated, so for a woman to have a dozen babies really wasn't all that uncommon up until about the 1940s or 50s, especially the poor since they oftentimes didn't have access to medical care due to lack of money and also due to the distance to the nearest doctor. So really it wasn't all that long ago for women to have a lot of children simply because a lot of them died before they were grown. Actually did you know that a lot of woman died back then simply because they were so worn out from birth after birth or because of medical complications that are easily caught and corrected today.”  
“No, I didn't know that,” Grey said impressed. “I had no idea you know so much about that particular subject.”   
“I used to read a lot, more than I do now,” Landon explained, “and I suppose it helps that we had our father who made history come alive for both me and Lochlan, which is a good thing as our history teacher in elementary school was extremely boring and could put anybody to sleep. He made history sound like dry facts being recited from a page instead of making it come alive for his students, kind of like Professor Binns was for Uncle Harry come to think of it. If we hadn't had our father who instilled in us a love of history from a very young age, we never would have stayed awake doing those elementary school lessons and a lot of the children didn't.”  
“I bet your classmates often got themselves detention for not managing to stay awake,” Grey suggested and Landing chuckled.   
“Well, mostly they managed to get away with it since this guy was very unobservant and so long as they looked awake, whether they actually were or not, and completed the classwork, he didn't pay any attention.”  
“I don't understand how some history teacher can make the subject sound so boring when history is full of interesting and fascinating facts that should fascinate little boys in particular and probably even a lot of little girls to,” Grey said. “I thought the job of the teacher was to engage the students interest, not put them to sleep.”  
Landon chuckled at that. “It is, but history's kind of an iffy subject and some teachers just have the ability to make it come alive for their students while others don't. Now to deliberately change the subject, I'll contact Howard tomorrow, but for now we have other things more interesting to do, don't you thing?”  
“Definitely,” Grey agreed with a grin knowing exactly what Landon was talking about. After that they were no more words, unless, you counted whimpers and groans of pleasure as the two started making love gently and tenderly, before falling asleep in each other's arms.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Well, how have you two been doing since your twins last checkup?” asked Howard as Landon and Grey sat down in the comfortable chairs in front of Healer Keyes's desk.  
“We're fine,” Landon assured their long time friend who had even come over to dinner a few times over the last two years, along with his wife.  
“The twins have been keeping us very busy as I'm sure you know,” Grey added.  
“Well, at least we finally found someone to help us look after them,” Landon said. “We must've gone through at least two dozen squibs before we found one that was any good with children at all, which is due to you,” he added in an aside to Howard, “so thanks for introducing us to your cousin Holly since she's been working out fine.”  
“You're welcome,” Howard told them with a pleased smile. “She's always been very good with children even though she's never had any of her own.”   
“And it helps that she can cook and clean and she doesn't try to come on to one of us,” Grey added.  
“Definitely,” Landon said. “A few of those women we went through trying to find someone to help us out tried to seduce one of us.”  
“We certainly showed them the door so fast I'm sure that their heads spun,” Grey said darkly.  
“We'll you both are very handsome,” Howard pointed out, “not that that excuses them or anything just that some people don't seem to have any control when it comes to a handsome man, much less two.”  
“Well, we won't have anybody like that in our house,” Landon said as serious as a heart attack. “We don't need someone that's going to try to seduce us away from the other or come between us.”  
“And it's not because Landon doesn't trust me or that I don't trust him just that we don't need those kind of problems,” Grey added. “I have no doubt about Landon's loyalty to me and I hope he doesn't have any about mine.”  
“Of course not,” Landon said shaking his head negatively. “Besides we would be fools to have somebody that is going to cause problems in our lives and so we showed them the door.”  
“So when you made this appointment for yourselves and didn't bring the children along I'm assuming that you think it's time to have another one?” asked Howard, although really it was more of a statement.   
“We always knew you were a smart man,” Grey told Howard with a grin.  
“The children are two now and yes we think it's time for another one, although it will be just one this time,” Landon added. “We might want another set of twins somewhere down the line, but not this time. Besides both Mallory and Cyrill have been asking if they can have a sibling for the last several months and so we decided it was time to provide them with one.”  
“Well you know the process by now since you have been through it once,” Howard said. “Whose sperm will you be using? Yours Landon? Or yours Grey?”  
“Mine,” Landon answered immediately. “I'm hoping for a little boy so I can name him after my ancestor that started our family's whole line. His name was Edwin and he was a squib. His family was pureblooded and he didn't like being treated like he was made of glass, just because he didn't have the magic that the rest of his family did so as soon as he was grown he moved to America and that's how the Reid family line began.”  
“Next time we have a child probably in another two years we were going to use mine,” Grey said.  
“Well, in that case, just let me give you a quick examination, Landon and then you can go pee in a cup and choose what female's eggs you want to use,” Howard said rising from his desk and leading both Landon and Grey to an examination room.  
“Is there any chance that we can get the same female that we had two years ago?” asked Grey with a raised eyebrow.   
Howard shook his head. “No, I'm afraid not as that woman only donated six eggs and all of them are gone.”  
“Oh well, we didn't really expect to be able to use the same female,” Landon said shrugging philosophically. “We would've liked our children to all come from the same woman, but I guess that's not really going to be possible.”  
“No, not really, since most women don't donate more than two eggs at most,” Howard said with a shake of his head. “The woman you chose was unusual in that she donated half a dozen.”  
There was no more talking as Howard quickly did his examination on Landon and then gave him a clean bill of health.  
The three of them headed to where the women's eggs were kept and it didn't take Landon long to pick up a test tube of a woman with red hair, brown eyes, with strong magical ability, who was 5'5'.  
“Well that certainly didn't take long,” Howard said approvingly.   
“Well, we didn't need a woman that has donated more than one egg and so of course it didn't take too long,” Landon told the older man. “I already knew what I had in mind before I even came for our appointment. Like for instance I will never choose a women that has brown eyes, since I would like to pass my golden brown eyes onto all the offspring that come from my sperm and since brown is dominant that is nearly a certainty, although I know they could turn out darker or lighter then mine since brown is a very common color and whatever woman's eggs we pick is bound to have brown eyes somewhere within a few generations.”  
“Well, now all you have to do is pee in a cup I'll contact you in a couple weeks to tell you how it's going.”  
“We know the procedure since we've already been through it once,” Grey said with a grin and Landon nodded.  
“Why don't you come over to dinner with your wife instead of contacting us by owl?” Landon suggested. “That way you can tell us how it's going in person instead of something as impersonal as an owl or a phone call.”  
“Alright,” Howard agreed looking forward to spending a couple of hours with two of his favorite people, “sounds good.”

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Landon and Grey arrived at the hospital six days later as Howard had called them through the Floo and told him that there was a problem with their embryo that was going to be implanted into the artificial uterus. Both young men were worried as Howard had refused to give him the details over the very public Floo system and so they arrived as hurriedly as they could Landon closing his shop for the rest of the day.  
“What's the problem?” Landon asked anxiously being the first to speak as soon as they arrived in Howard's office.  
“You're call wasn't exactly expected and as anxious as you were it can't be good news,” Grey added.  
“Well, it kind of is and kind of isn't,” Howard said waffling.   
“What do you mean?” asked Landon.  
“Well…” Howard hesitated for a moment, but then just blurted it out. “Well your embryo has split into two and since it has done that it will result in identical twins, although we can't of course tell the sex at his early stage. My question is do you want both of them implanted into the artificial womb or just one?”  
Both young men glared at Howard.   
“How could you worry us like that?” Grey demanded angrily. “Why couldn't you just have told us that without causing us to think that something was seriously wrong?”  
“I'm sorry boys, I really am, but it is kind of a desperate situation because those embryos need to be put into the artificial womb or frozen as soon as possible as it has already been six days and I was just about to do that when this happened. It must've happened some time in the last couple of days because when I checked on your sample less than two days ago it was just one embryo.”  
“Does this happen often?” asked Landon calming down a little. It was clear that Howard had only panicked because he was on something of a time constraint.  
“More often then when twins are born naturally, especially identical,” Howard answered, “about thirty percent more often actually. Natural twins are born about once in every 250 births, although you have more of a chance of having them if you're over 35 or have twins that run in your family, although again those are usually fraternal, not identical. When you're doing IVF treatment really they occur once in every hundred births.”  
Grey and Landon looked at each other and a message seemed to pass between them. Neither had wanted twins again this soon but there was no way they were going to give them up either since the embryo had split naturally.  
“We'll keep both,” Landon said firmly. “There's no way I'm going to give up one of my sons or daughters just because we weren't expecting twins again. Really we should've expected this sooner or later since I am an identical twin and that was bound to increase our chances of one of the embryos splitting.”  
“It does,” Howard agreed more calmly, “and I should've thought of the possibility and why it never occurred to me I don't know.”  
“You can't think of everything,” Grey told Howard also having calmed down. “Just do us a favor and never frighten us like that again. We both believed that there was something seriously wrong with our son or daughter even if the embryos are not far enough along to be called that yet.”  
“Sorry,” Howard said a little sheepishly. “I just don't want anything to go wrong for you since I've gotten quite fond of both of you in the last couple of years. Besides I have never liked that particular part of my job and that is giving bad news to someone. I had better go take care of that now. I'll be back in a few minutes,” he added disappearing out of his office door.  
“Whoo!” Grey said plopping down in one of Howard's office chairs. “I am so glad it wasn't something more serious.”   
“Howard was right to contact us though even if he did scare us to death as there is a certain time limit on getting an embryo inserted into a woman's uterus or in our case an artificial one. It really needs to take place within 6 to 7 day and it's already been 6.”  
The two young men remained silent just deep in their own thoughts until Howard came back less than half an hour later.  
“They're all taken care of,” Howard assured them as he entered his office again. “I really am sorry for scaring you like that.”   
“Next time just ask us to come and tell us that it's an urgent, but try not to scare us so badly again. If you tell us it's urgent we'll come right away.” Landon promised.  
“I will,” Howard promised as he saw how white from fright the two young man still were. He mentally kicked himself for scaring them.  
“So it will be about what four or five months before we can tell the sex?” asked Landon.   
“That's right,” Howard agreed. “So you're saying that you want to know this time, right?”  
“Well, I do anyway I don't know about Grey. It about drove me nuts not knowing whether I was having a boy or a girl last time. In that way I'm a lot like my father I'm afraid, very curious about everything and since these embryos will share my blood I'm even more curious than normal.”  
“I'll let you know when we should be able to tell the sex,” Howard promised. “We only have to be able to tell the sex with one of them as they are identical. If one's a boy then the other one will be to and vice versa of course.”  
“Of course,” Landon agreed beginning to grin then laugh uproariously as he thought about the fact that he was going to be the father of twins again. Grey and Howard looked at Landon in concern.   
“What's so funny?” asked Grey totally shocked at his lover's laughter.   
“I was just thinking about how dad, Uncle Aaron and Sara are going to react when we tell them it's twins again, but instead of fraternal they're going to be identical. I'm not saying that they won't be very happy for us, but also very...astonished,” Landon explained.  
“That's probably an understatement,” Grey snickered as Landon had made a very good point.  
“We told them of course a couple weeks ago that we were going to have another child, but they also knew that we were only going to have one,” Grey explained.   
“Oh, I see,” Howard said who now understood why Landon had suddenly burst into laughter.  
“I won't be surprised if dad was aware that the embryo splitting was at least a strong possibility when he finds out about this happening as he has probably read up on this particular subject and so he might not be as surprised as Uncle Aaron or Sara will be.”  
“We should tell them as soon as possible so we can take pictures of their reactions,” Grey suggested with another snicker.  
“I'll see you at your next appointment,” Howard told the two young men with a grin.  
“Thank you for everything, Howard,” Landon said shaking healer's hand Grey doing the same. “We'll see you for dinner in a couple of weeks.”   
“I'm looking forward to it,” Howard assured them with a smile.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

9 months later

Landon had been right in the fact that Spencer, Hotch and Sara had indeed been absolutely flabbergasted when they were told, but once the three of them had gotten over the shock they were also very happy for all three of them had been looking forward to even more children joining the family, especially since Lochlan and Michelle had just had another child, this time a girl they had named Kira. Spencer had been the least surprised of all three of them because he was the one that had done the research and knew how often twins resulted from IVF treatments and he had assumed that the magical equivalent was the same and he had been proven correct.  
Today was the day that they were going to pick up the twins and Landon and Grey had found out from their friend the healer that they were both boys, of course identical, since they had come from the same egg that had split in two while still in the petri dish.  
The young men just like they had done with the other set of twins had spent a couple of hours almost every day at the hospital talking to them through the material of the artificial uterus.  
Landon had already decided of course that the oldest son was going to be named Edwin after his ancestor who had forged a life for himself in America, but he had still had to pick with Grey's help a name for his second son.  
They had finally decided on Lancaster, which was one of the names that they had picked out almost three years before.  
The twins Mallory and Cyrill had been very excited about getting two baby brothers and couldn't wait until they had arrived. The two children were now also almost three years old and it didn't seem like it had been that long since their births, as they were always so busy but it had. Holly of course, Howard's cousin, had become as much a part of the family as Sara had for Spencer and Aaron and so Grey and Landon were quite content to leave the two three-year-olds with her while they went to the hospital or into work.  
The two young men arrived at the nursery as they had been asked to go there instead of to Howard's office and they had been happy to comply as they were anxious to see their children for the first time. They arrived right on time to find the Healer Keyes already waiting on them.  
“Right on time,” Howard commented with a grin.   
“Aren't we always on time?” Grey asked rhetorically as he looked in the nursery window searching for two black headed identical twins. There couldn't possibly be too sets of identical twins with black hair in the baby nursery at the same time, since identical twins were pretty rare. He supposed it was possible that their hair, had come out something besides black, but since black was the dominant gene when it came to hair color it was more likely to be that color.  
“There they are,” Howard said pointing to two babies who were indeed identical and who had the beginnings of black hair right on the front row. “I had the nurse in charge of the newborn nursery move them to the front as I told her you would be here in just a few minutes.”  
“That was very considerate of you,” Landon said as he gazed at both twins with such profound love in his eyes that it almost made tears come into Howard's own. “Which one's the oldest?”   
“It should say on the tags that are on their wrists,” Howard said. “Why don't you go in so that you can hold them for a few minutes anyway.”   
“When can we take them home or do they need to stay in the hospital for a few days?” asked Grey who was also looking at the twins with a great deal of love.  
“No they can leave today as they are perfectly healthy, which as I pointed out is one of the advantages of using the artificial uterus as they're not born until they're full term. So what have you decided to name the younger of the twin since I know you going to name the oldest Edwin although you never did give me a middle name.”  
“Well we decided on Lancaster for the second twin,” Grey explained. “One of the reasons I like it so much is you can't make any stupid nicknames out of it, although I suppose he could go by Lan or Lance.”  
“He'll probably be teased because of his name,” Howard predicted.   
“Probably,” Landon said, “but then again my brother and I as well as Grey were all teased for our unusual names, although the British wizarding world seems to run too unusual names as my Uncle Harry went to school with a boy named Draco and also two twin girls named Padma and Parvati.”  
“And also a girl named Lavender and that's not exactly your run-of-the-mill name either,” Grey said.  
“Also my Uncle Harry's godfather that died doing his fifth year was named Sirius after the dog star and his uncle in all, but blood is Remus another unusual name,” Landon said with a shrug. “Our children will learn to deal with being teased just like we did, and grow into mature adults, even if they don't like it anymore than we did when it was our turn.”  
“Besides why would we name our children something that thousands of other people have like Tom? Or Richard? Or Susan? Or Amelia?”  
“A good point,” Howard acknowledged, “so what middle names have you picked out?”  
“Well I like the name Barak, it's Hebrew and means lightning,” Landon answered, “so I thought I would give Edwin that middle name.”  
“Original,” Howard said.  
“Thank you, we do try,” Grey told the older man with a grin.  
“And the second one?” asked Howard with a raised eyebrow.   
“Well, there was a tradition that was in the Black family about naming their children after stars and although we aren't related to the Blacks we thought we would honor the memory of our Uncle Harry's godfather Sirius by using Antares as a middle name for Lancaster,” Landon explained. “From all we know of him he is one of the few in the Black family that didn't turn into a dark wizard and always fought for what he believed in. The only reason we didn't decide on Sirius is it's already been used as my Uncle Harry's oldest son's middle name. We believe that our Uncle Harry, and the deceased Sirius Black would be pleased.”  
“Well, you have once again picked some fine names for your children and it's so refreshing that you didn't pick anything to comment or anything too…”  
“Ugly?” Grey suggested.   
“Well yes,” Howard admitted. “There are a lot of ugly names in the world.”  
“But also a lot of unique and pretty ones,” Grey said Howard nodded in agreement.  
“We have to remember that what we consider ugly, somebody else might consider beautiful,” Landon said.   
“True enough,” Howard admitted. “Why don't you go in and feed them their bottles as it's about that time and I'll go get the paperwork together so you can sign it and get out of here.”   
“Thank you, Howard, you're the best,” Landon told the older man shaking his hand.  
“And don't you forget it,” Howard admonished them playfully with a sparkle in his eyes causing both younger men to grin at him.  
Howard disappeared down the hallway going to gather the paperwork so that the twins could be taken home and when he was gone Grey and Landon turned back to the nursery window and gazed at the twins they had brought into this world, through the use of technology instead of them having to go childless just because they were two men in a relationship.  
“Wait until Uncle Spencer get's to hold his grandsons,” Grey said after a few minutes of silence. “Why do I have a feeling that he's going to spoil them rotten?”   
“Because he already spoils the other two?” Landon suggested with a grin. “Although that's what grandparents are supposed to do you know. Spoil them rotten and send them home. You know Lochlan and me never had grandparents to spoil us. The only grandparent we have any contact with is Grandma Diana and she can't really leave the institution she's in even though Lochlan and I still go up to visit her a few times a year.”  
“I never had any grandparents to spoil me either,” Grey said looking wistful.  
“Well, I suppose we'll just have to let dad, Uncle Aaron and Sara's spoil then then, although they know better than to go to far as I want them to grow up just like my brother and I did and become mature adults instead of spoiled rotten brats.”  
“Don't worry so much, because you know that Uncle Spencer, Uncle Aaron and Sara won't to go to far. They know when a little bit of discipline is required after all they raised you and your brother didn't they? And also me from the time I was 16 anyway.”  
“You're right, my dad's just too sensible to spoil them too much,” Landon admitted. “Uncle Aaron to, although I can't say the same thing about Sara since she absolutely loves having even more grandchildren to spoil, even if they aren't technically related.”  
The two young men headed into the nursery to put on the sterilized clothing and masks that was required so that they didn't let in any germs and then picked up the twins with the nurse watching them closely the whole time.  
The two of them accepted some bottles from the same nurse that was watching them like a hawk and they headed over to two rockers to sit down with that precious burdens in order to feed them more comfortably.  
The twins accepted the nipples of the bottles immediately and begin to suck on them.   
“Well, at least there's nothing wrong with their appetites,” Grey said softly so as not to disturb the twins feeding time.  
“Which definitely comes from my side of the family as my brother and I were always good eaters,” Landon replied with a smile, “but that's at least partly because Sara is such a good cook.”  
The two men fell silent and continued to feed the twins their bottles while gazing down at them lovingly.


End file.
